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AUTHOR 


DAVIDSON 


5 


J .  THAIN 


TITLE 


TALKS  WITH  YOUNG 
MEN 


PLACE: 


NEW  YORK 


DATE: 


1885 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
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Master  Negative  # 


Original  Material  as  Filmed  -  Existing  Bibliographic  Record 


Restrictions  on  Use: 


r 


1241 
Dl 


Davidson,  J       Thain. 

Talks  with  young  men, 
1885. 

viii,  286  p.   19  cm. 


New  York,  Armstrong, 


u 


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TALKS  WITH  YOUNG  MEN. 


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TALKS  WITH  YOUNG  MEN. 


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BY 


J,  THAIN  DAVIDSON.  D.D» 


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A.    C.    ARMSTRONQ    &    SON, 

714,   BROADWAY. 
1885. 


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PREFACE. 


• 


^ 


A\ 


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Oo 


I 

QD 


AN  awakened  interest  in  the  religious  welfare  of 
young  men  is  a  feature  of  our  time.  Within 
the  past  few  years  more  has  been  done  in  this  direc- 
tion than  was  ever  attempted  before  ;  and  in  most  of 
our  large  towns  the  increased  prosperity  of  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  attests  the  depth  and 
reality  of  the  movement. 

It  is  an  oft-repeated  remark  of  persons  who  are  past 
the  prime  of  life,  that  in  their  early  days  they  had  no 
such  advantages  for  moral  and  spiritual  culture  as 
young  men  now  enjoy;  and  it  is  gratifying  to  see 
that  there  are  large  numbers  who  value  these  privileges, 
and  amid  many  temptations  to  swerve  from  truth  and 
virtue,  are  faithful  to  their  religious  principles,  and  are 
rising  to  a  higher  and  nobler  Christian  manhood. 

In  the  great  centres  of  population  there  are,  from 

time  to  time,  courses  of  lectures  on  such  subjects  as 
the  Christian  evidences,  or  the  relation  between  science 
and  religion,  for  the  special  benefit  of  young  and  inr» 
quiring   minds;   but  I  have  been  impressed    with  the 


77074 


VI 


Preface, 


belief  that,  apart  from  such  systematic  instruction, 
there  is  room  for  a  more  famiUar  treatment  of  the 
practical  difficulties  and  temptations  of  every-day  life ; 
and  for  some  years  have  been  in  the  habit  of  holding 
a  monthly  Sunday  evening  service  for  young  men, 
with  this  specific  end  in  view. 

The  interest  which  has  been  awakened,  and  the 
large  numbers  who  have  attended,  have  encouraged 
me  to  continue  the  practice. 

The  following  "Talks"  are  a  few  of  these  homely 
addresses.  They  affect  no  exegetical  merit,  nor  attempt 
the  discussion  of  any  speculative  questions:  they  are 
familiar  and  direct  appeals  to  the  heart. 

In  yielding  to  the  request  for  their  publication,  I 
have  thought  it  well  to  leave  them  in  the  free  and 
conversational  form  in  which  they  were  delivered. 


CONTENTS. 


I.- 


THE   GLORY   OF  YOUNG   MEN    .  • 


II. 


CALLED    TO    A    KINGDOM 


WANTED— A    MAN!        . 


• 


III. 


•  • 


IV. 


AN    ARTISAN,    YET   A   GENTLEMAN     . 

V. 
PUTTING    AWAY   CHILDISH    THINGS  • 


•  • 


•  • 


.       3 


17 


31 


47 


.     61 


VI. 

MASTER  OVER  ONE's  SELF   .     • 


VII. 


SETTING    OUT    IN    LIFE 


»     • 


75 


89 


*  f 


VIII. 

YOUNG  MEN  FROM  THE  COUNTRY  .     •     • 


103 


IX. 
THE    EYES   OF   A   YOUNG    MAN    OPENED       • 


119 


TRUE  TO  THE  RELIGION  OF  ONE's  FATHERS  . 


.  -^zi 


via 


BETTER  THAN  A  SHEEP 


Contents. 


XI. 


•       •       • 


XII. 

HUNGRY    STUDENTS ;    OR,    DEATH    IN    THE    POT  •  • 

XIII. 
THE   WAY   TO   GET   ON    IN    THE   WORLD      ,  .  • 

XIV. 
THOROUGHNESS   THE    ROAD   TO    PROSPERITY       •  . 

XV. 
STARTING   ON   THE   RIGHT   RAILS      ,  «  •  • 

XVI. 
BEGINNING   WELL,    BUT   ENDING    ILL  •  •  • 

XVII. 
BURIED   WITH    THE    BURIAL    OF   AN    ASS  ,  ,  , 

XVIIL 
THE    RIGHT    SORT    OF    FRIEND  .  • 


XIX. 
COMPANIONSHIP   WITH    FOOLS 

XX. 

THE  CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WHOLE  MATTER 


•     • 


•     • 


PAGE 

.  M7 

•  i6i 

.  175 
.  189 
.  203 

•  219 

•  ^ZZ 

•  247 

•  261 


275 


2 HE  GLORY  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 


"  The  glory  of  young  nun  is  tluir  Hrengthy—Y'B.OS,  xx.  29. 


i;' 


THE  GLORY  OF  YOUNG  MEfT,  ^ 

THREE  books  of  the  Bible  are  from  the  pen  of  Solomon. 
These  are  the  Song  of  Songs,  the  Proverbs,  and 
Ecclesiastes.  If  we  adopt  the  opinion  of  the  Rabbinical 
writers,  we  shall  assign  the  first  of  these  compositions  to 
the  period  of  Solomon's  youth,  when  though  his  passions 
were  strong,  his  principles  were  also  strong,  and  his 
character  unstained  by  vice ;  the  second  of  them,  contain- 
ing the  philosophy  of  practical  life,  we  shall  assign  to 
his  mature  manhood;  whilst  the  third  of  them,  with  its 
mingled  wailings,  confessions,  and  warnings,  we  shall 
assign  to  his  closing  years. 

This  Book  of  Proverbs,  then,  was  written  by  him  when 
he  was  in  the  zenith  of  his  strength.  Not  yet  had  he  lost 
the  vigour  and  elasticity  of  youth  :  whilst  to  these  were 
added  the  valuable  experience  and  sound  judgment  of  riper 
years. 

From  no  one,  probably,  do  counsels  to  young  men  come 
with  so  much  force  and  effect  as  from  one  who  is  in  the 
prime  of  life.  At  an  earlier  period,  it  is  conceived,  a  man  is 
hardly  entitled  to  give  advice ;  at  a  later  period,  he  is  apt 
to  be  disregarded  as  a  croaker. 

This  wonderful  book,  my  brothers,  merits  your  constant 
perusal  and  study.  It  is  a  vade  mecum  for  young  men.  Its 
thirty-one  chapters,  answering  to  the  thirty-one  days  of  the 
month,   suggest  the  propriety  of  a  monthly  reading  of  it. 


If 


ll 


4  Ta/ks  with  Young  Men, 

The  whole  tone  of  the  book  is  such  as  to  develop  true  man- 
liness apid  nobleness  of  character.  No  littleness  about  it : 
no  trace  of  a  sickly  and  sentimental  pietism — a  goody- 
goodyijm  sudi  as  is  sometimes  met  with,  which  turns 
many  a  young  fellow  against  religion.  It  is  robust  and 
dignified  throughout.  Dwelling  amid  these  proverbs,  you 
breathe  a  bracing  and  exhilarating  air.  You  develop  a 
stouter  manhood,  and  become  better  able  to  face  the  diffi- 
culties and  temptations  of  life.  If  any  one  is  silly  enough 
to  imagine  that  a  religious  young  man  is  necessarily  a  sheep 
or  a  simpleton,  let  him  read  this  book,  and  he  will  see  his 
mistake.  It  is  amongst  the  ungodly  that  the  simple  ones 
and  the  fools  are  to  be  found.  True  religion  brings  out  all 
that  is  noblest  and  best  in  humanity,  and  without  it  no 
man  is  a  man  complete.  This  truth,  like  a  vein  in  a  block 
of  marble,  runs  visibly  through  the  whole  book,  but  finds 
its  culminating  expression  in  the  words  of  my  text — "  The 
glory  of  young  men  is  their  strength." 

I  take  this  proverb  to  be  true  in  a  fourfold  sense,  and, 
starting  from  the  lowest  platform,  I  observe.  First,  that  the 
glory  of  young  men  is  their  physical  strength.  Yes  !  so 
important  is  this  view  of  the  text,  I  would  gladly  occupy 
all  your  time  this  evening  in  illustrating  it;  but  I  must 
content  myself  with  only  a  few  words.  Undoubtedly,  it  is 
a  young  man's  glory  to  have  a  healthy,  vigorous,  stalwart 
bodily  frame.  It  is  an  adornment;  a  thing  you  should 
desire  to  have ;  and  having,  do  your  best  to  preserve,  and 
utilise  for  the  highest  ends.  No  doubt  Jeremiah  says, 
"  Let  not  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his  might,"  just  as  he 
warns  the  wise  man  against  glorying  in  his  wisdom,  and 
the  rich  man,  in  his  riches;  but,  then,  he  is  placing  these 
things  in  comparison  with  what  is  far  more  valuable: 
"Let  him  that  glorie'th  glory  in  this,  that  he  understandeth 
and    knoweth     Me,  saith    the   Lord.*"      Compared    with  a 


The  Glory  of  Young  Men. 


saving  knowledge  of  God,  bodily  vigour  is,  indeed,  a  thing 
unworthy  of  mention ;  happier  far  the  poor,  dwarfed,  feeble 
.  creature,  who  knows  the  Lord,  than  the  man  of  grandest 
physique,  who  is  living  a  godless  life;  but  there  is  no  reason 
why  a  man  should  not  have  both  blessings — have  a  rege- 
nerate soul  in  a  robust  and  healthful  body.    I  am  not  one  to 
laugh  at  what  is  called  a  "muscular  Christir.nty,"  or  utter 
one  word  of  disparagement  in  relation  to  those  gymnastic 
exercises  and  athletic  sports  which  tend  to  brace  the  phy- 
sical frame.     There  are  some  good  people  who  seem  to 
think  that,  because  Richard  Baxter  and  Robert  Hall  were 
invalids,  and  Kirke  White  had  a  consumptive  cough,  and 
William  Cowper  was  sadly  dyspeptic,  therefore  the  saint- 
liest  people  must  be  sickly  and  delicate.     What  a  piece  of 
folly!      Let   me    remind  them   that  the    heavenly-minded 
McCheyne   could  beat  all  his   fellows  in    running    a  race* 
or  in  leaping  a  five-barred  gate;  and  that  Martin  Luther 
had  not  only  a  noble  soul,  but  a   muscular  development, 
which  made  him  able  to  thrash  any  five  of  his  persecutors, 
if  it  had  been  right  for  him  so  to  do.     It  is  outrageous  that 
some  men  will,  through  their  own  carelessness,  or  disregard 
of  the  laws  of  health,  let  their  constitution  go  down,  down 
to  a  sad  state,  and  then  look  up  languidly  through  their  eye- 
brows, with  a  sigh  of  resignation  to  the  will  of  God,  who 
has  appointed  them  to  a  life  of  sickness  and  infirmity.     I 
say,  God  will  hold  you  responsible  for  any  invalidism  which 
arises  from    your  own  fault,   when  He  gave   you    bodies 
that  might  have  been  vigorous  and  well.      If  you  seldom 
take  physical  exercise,   if  you  sit  up    to  all  hours  of  the 
night,  if  you  pay  no  attention  to  your  diet,  if  you  indulge 
in  any  vicious  habits,   you  have  no    right  to  blame  your 
delicacy  upon  God,  or  to  speak  as  though  these  frequent 
headaches,  and  inactive  liver,  and  shattered  nerves,  were  ^ 
an  affliction  that  He  had  appointed  you 


VH 


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I, 


!  ' 


i\\ 


IM 


6  7a/^s  with  Young  Men. 

There  is  not  a  doubt  that  the  use  of  alcoholic  stimulants 
sends  hundreds  of  young  men  every  year  to  a  premature 
grave.  There  is  as  little  doubt  that  hundreds  more,  fine 
blooming  lads,  have  been  slain  by  tobacco  smoke.  To  see 
the  way  some  go  on,  the  wonder  to  me  is  that  they  are  not 
cut  off  much  sooner.  I  have  just  been  reading  the  "  Life  of 
Joseph  Barker '';  and  pray  listen  to  the  account  he  gives  of 
himself,  referring  to  a  certain  period  of  his  career.  "  I 
once  was  a  smoker.  At  first  I  took  but  a  few  whiffs.  I 
afterwards  required  half  a  pipe ;  I  next  came  to  need  a 
whole  one.  It  was  not  long  before  I  required  two;  in 
course  of  time  I  fancied  I  needed  one  after  each  meal,  and 
after  a  while  I  fancied  I  needed  an  additional  one  between 
meals ;  and  the  demand  increased  to  such  an  extent  at 
length,  that  I  was  unable  to  do  anything  without  first  pre- 
paring myself  with  the  pipe.  I  must  have  a  pipe  to  prepare 
me  for  a  journey,  a  pipe  to  cheer  me  on  the  road,  and  a  pipe 
when  my  journey  was  ended.  I  must  have  a  pipe  before  I 
lectured,  and  a  pipe  when  I  had  done.  I  must  have  a  pipe 
before  I  began  my  studies  in  the  morning,  a  pipe  when  I 
met  with  any  difficulty,  and  a  pipe  when  I  had  fairly  sur- 
mounted the  difficulty ;  a  pipe  when  I  was  alone,  and  a  pipe 
when  I  had  company  with  me ;  a  pipe  when  I  was  cold, 
and  a  pipe  when  I  was  hot ;  a  pipe  when  I  was  pleased, 
and  a  pipe  when  I  was  grieved  ;  a  pipe  when  the  sky  was 
clear,  and  a  pipe  when  the  weather  was  dull ;  a  pipe  on  all 
occasions,  till  the  habit  became  a  downright  tyranny." 

Now,  whatever  views  we  may  hold  on  the  subject  of 
total  abstinence  from  stimulants  and  narcotics,  every  man 
of  sense  must  say,  that,  if  either  of  these  things  attains 
such  a  control  over  us  that  we  cannot  be  happy  or  comfort- 
able without  it,  it  is  more  than  time,  that— be  it  the  glass 
or  the  pipe — it  be  smashed  into  a  thousand  fragments  and 
cast  aside  for  ever  I 


The  Glory  of  Young  Men.  ^ 

Gentlemen,  in  the  great  battle  against  the  kingdom  of 
darkness  we  want,  not  only  a  consecrated  soul,  but  a  strong 
arm,  stout  lungs,  and  vigorous  muscle.  Thank  God,  there 
are  many  healthful  recreations  that  are  not  necessarily  sin- 
ful ;  and  when  the  great  annual  contest  takes  place  upon 
the  river,  and  a  number  of  fine  young  fellows  pull,  as  if  for 
life,  to  reach  the  winning-post  at  Mortlake,  I  should  say 
that  amongst  the  thousands  of  eager  spectators  there  will 
be  very  few  to  deny  that  a  strong-arm  and  stalwart  frame 
are  indeed  a  young  man's  glory.  It  is  not  the  bdating,  but 
the  betting,  that  makes  a  wise  man  shake  his  head ;  and 
sad  pity  it  is,  that  so  many  otherwise  harmless  recreations 
are  associated  with  this  detestable  practice,  which,  wher- 
ever it  exists,  is  fraught  with  both  temporal  and  eternal 
ruin.  May  it  please  God  to  give  to  every  one  of  you  robust 
bodily  health,  and  long  spare  you  to  enjoy  it.  The  old 
Pagan  p'/overb  is  a  lie — "  Those  whom  the  gods  love  die 
young  " ;  for  I  have  higher  authority  for  saying  to  every  one 
of  you  who  has  chosen  heavenly  wisdom  for  your  posses- 
sion :  "  Length  of  days  and  long  life  shall  it  add  unto  thee." 

2.  The  glory  of  young  men  is  their  intellectual  strength. 
"  Understanding,"  says  Solomon,  "  is  a  well-spring  of  life 
unto  him  that  hath  it."  A  man  with  any  nobleness  of 
character  will  take  a  legitimate  pride  in  the  possession  of  a 
sound  reason,  a  calm  judgment,  a  vigorous  brain.  He  will 
do  his  best  to  cultivate  and  improve  his  mental  powers,  and 
will  deny  himself  any  luxury  which  tends  to  weaken  or 
impair  them.  The  most  religious  young  men  I  happen  to 
know  are  the  most  intellectual  and  thoughtful.  Any  godless 
young  men  with  whom  I  am  acquainted  strike  me  as  being 
particularly  stupid  and  brainless.  I  do  not  deny  that  there 
are  clever,  sharp,  and  well-read  men  amongst  those  who 
scoff"  at  God's  truth,  and  that  amongst  devout  Christians 
there  are  some  with  very  shallow  intellects.     None  the  less 


8 


'I  a  Iks  with    Younp[  Men. 


II 


do  I  aver,  that,    as  Lord  Bacon  said  long  ago,   depth  in 
philosophy  bringeth  men's  minds   round  to  religion ;  and 
that   the  direct  tendency  of  a  genuine  Christianity  is    to 
develop  and    strengthen  the  mental    powers.     Go   to  any 
church  in  London — who  are  the  young   men   most  deeply 
read,  most  skilful  in  debate,  most  prominent  and  active  in 
any  literary  or  mutual  improvement  society  ?     You  don' 
pause  for  a  moment  to  answer,  the  most  decidedly  religious 
in  that  church.      We  have  had  amongst  ourselves   here 
some   noble   specimens  of   powerful   and   richly-furnished 
minds,  and  in  every  case  that  I  can  remember  these  gentle- 
men  have    been   earnest  believers.      They    have  studied 
Church  history  and  Christian  doctrine  for  themselves  ;  they 
have  weighed  the  evidences  for  Christianity;  and,  as  the 
result,  have  bowed  in  adoring  reverence  before  the  person 
of  Jesus.     The  Gospel  does  not  enslave  the  reason,  it  sets 
it  free.     God  requires  of  you  that  you  think  for  yourselves  : 
"  Prove  all  things  ;  hold  fast  that  which  is  good."     Buy  the 
truth  at  any  price,  and  sell  it  at  none.     Sir  Isaac  Newton 
could   give   but   one    explanation    of    the    success   which 
attended   his   investigation  of   the  laws    of  nature — "By 
always   thinking  into  them."     It   is  this  patient  thought- 
work,  this  continued  application  of  the  mind  to  the  subject 
before  it,  that  develops  its  powers  and  promotes  its  health- 
fulness.     He  who  occupies  his  mind  with  any  casual  subject 
which  presents  itself,  and  studies  no  subject  thoroughly  for 
himself,  can  never  be  a  strong  man.     As  the  late  George 
Eliot   says,    "His  mind  is  furnished    as   hotels  are,   with 
everything  for  occasional  and  transient  use." 

See  to  it,  young  men,  that  every  day  adds  to  your  store 
of  knowledge.  Read,  read,  read,  but  be  careful  what  you 
read.  The  railway  book-stalls  and  circulating  libraries  are 
full  of  senseless  stuff  that  will  do  no  man  any  good.  I 
think  in  many  of  them  there  might  be  stuck  up  a  notice- 


: 


\ 


The  Glory  of  Young  Men.  9 

board,  such  as  I  once  saw  on  a  piece  of  waste  ground, 
"  Rubbish  shot  here."  To  seek  solid  instruction  there,  is 
like  searching  the  City  sewers  on  chance  of  finding  a 
shilling  or  silver  spoon.  With  all  her  admiration  of 
Thackeray,  Charlotte  Bronte  severely  chid  him  for  lauding 
certain  questionable  novelists,  and  reminded  him  how 
much  harm  indiscriminate  praise  of  such  books  did  to  young 
men  like  her  own  unhappy  brother. 

I  will  quit  this  part  of  my  subject  with  an  extract  from  a 
letter  written  by  the  late  Thomas  Carlyle'  to  a  young  man, 
and  bearing  date  Chelsea,  13th  March,  1843  : — "  In  con- 
clusion, I  will  remind  you  that  it  is  not  by  books  alone,  nor 
by  books  chiefly,  that  a  man  becomes  in  all  points  a  man. 
Study  to  do  faithfully  whatsoever  thing  in  your  actual  situa- 
tion, there  and  now,  you  find  laid  to  your  charge ;  stand  to 
it  like  a  true  soldier;  silently  devour  the  many  chagrins  ot 
it,  as  all  human  situations  have  many ;  and  be  it  your  aim 
not  to  quit  it  without  doing  all  that  it,  at  least,  requires  of 
you.  A  man  perfects  himself  by  work  even  more  than  by 
reading."  May  God  give  to  every  one  of  you  the  "  Sana 
mens  in  corpore  sanOy^  a  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body. 

3.  The  glory  of  young  men  is  their  moral  strength.  It 
is  a  grand  thing  for  a  man  to  have  a  delicate  moral  sensitive- 
ness and  a  strong  moral  determination.  By  the  former  he 
will  scent  vice  afar  off,  and  by  the  latter  he  will  keep  out 
of  the  way  of  the  tempter,  and  resist  to  the  death  when  he 
is  tempted.  The  very  badge  of  true  manliness  is  self- 
controL  No  one  who  is  devoid  of  it  can  pretend  to  stand 
upon  the  platform  of  real  manhood.  Man  is  the  one 
animal  upon  the  earth  that  has  liberty  of  self-destruction. 
He  can  fatally  poison  his  body — he  can  fatally  poison  his  soul. 
If  you  are  not  sovereign  over  your  appetites,  and  passions, 
and  inclinations,  then,  inasmuch  as  you  have — what  the 
brutes  have  not  —  a  soul  and  conscience  within   you  to 


lO 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


The  Gkry  of  Young  Men. 


II 


govern  you   aright,  you  fall  below  them  in  the  order  of 
creation. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  you  resist  temptation,  when 
you  conquer  it,  when  you  triumph  over  it,  you  earn  the 
respect,  first,  of  the  baffled  tempter,  and  then  of  yourself; 
which  last  is  a  step  to  greater  moral  victories  to-morrow. 
Without  self-control,  you  have  no  right  to  call  yourself  a 
man ;  but  with  entire  command  over  self,  you  belong  to 
the  kingly  order  of  men.  Now  it  is  a  glory  to  a  young  man 
when  in  him  is  seen  the  higher  nature  keeping  the  body 
under,  and  holding  it  in  subjection — the  man  with  his  foot 
upon  the  animal — reason  and  conscience  lording  it  over  the 
brute.  Aristotle,  Pagan  as  he  was,  and  living  in  an  age  and 
nation  in  which  lust  was  consecrated  and  vice  was  well- 
nigh  universal,  taught  the  Grecians  of  his  own  day  that 
moral  impurity  clogs  the  intellect,  debases  the  thoughts, 
and  enfeebles  the  reason.  Dugald  Stewart,  speaking  as  a 
mere  philosopher  and  moralist,  declared  that  indulgence  in 
sins  of  the  flesh  "  destroyed  the  intellectual  powers,  and 
moral  sensibilities,  and  produced  a  languor  and  depression 
of  mind  which  is  the  completion  of  human  misery."  A 
noble  and  virtuous  young  man  may  be  as  conscious  of  the 
stirrings  of  appetite  and  passion  within  him  as  any  one,  but 
he  is  determined  to  reign  over  himself.  He  will  see  no 
manliness  in  testing  how  near  he  can  go  to  the  edge  of  the 
precipice  without  falling  over.  He  will  keep  as  far  as 
possible  from  the  place  of  danger.  Having  asked  the  Lord 
in  his  morning  prayer  not  to  lead  him  into  temptation,  he 
will  not  wilfully  put  himself  in  peril.  If  you  know  what 
is  your  true  glory,  you  will  not  tamper  with  the  tempter 
for  an  instant. 

"  Flee  also  youthful  lusts,"  says  the  apostle,  "  but  follow 
after  righteousness."  Ycung  men,  weigh  well  these  two 
words,  "Flee  I"  "Follow!"     "Abhor  that  which  is  evil: 


4" 


k- 


cleave  to  that  which  is  good."  Do  not  so  much  as  look 
upon  the  wine  when  it  sparkles  in  the  glass ;  do  not  give 
the  faintest  smile  of  approval  to  the  coarse  jest,  or  infidel 
sneer,  or  immoral  suggestion ;  start  back  with  disgust  at 
the  touch  or  the  voice  of  the  harlot  on  the  street ;  and  vow 
that  yours  shall  be  the  exquisite  joy  of  having  "  a  conscience 
void  of  offence,  towards  God,  and  towards  men."  Does 
any  one  here  dare  to  insinuate  that  such  purity  is  impossible  ? 
Do  I  hear  it  said  (yes,  I  have  heard  it  said)  that  no  one 
passes  scatheless  through  the  ordeal  of  these  temptations  ? 
I  throw  back  the  slander  with  indgnation ;  and,  if  the 
solemn  testimony  of  the  speaker,  and  of  others  now  present 
is  not  enough,  I  will  ask  you  to  listen  to  the  noble  tribute 
paid  by  Coleridge  to  the  memory  of  his  beloved  friend,  the 
poet  Southey,  of  whom  he  says,  that  "  he  passed  from  the 
innocence  of  youth  to  virtue,  not  only  free  from  all  vicious 
indulgences,  but  unstained  by  any  act  of  intemperance,  or 
the  degradations  akin  to  intemperance."  What  a  contrast 
to  Charles  Lamb,  who  made  all  the  world  laugh  at  his 
humour,  and  then  afterwards  made  all  the  world  weep  at 
his  fate ;  who,  though  he  could  outwit  everybody,  was  at 
last  outwitted  of  his  own  passions,  and  wrote  : — "  The 
waters  have  gone  over  me  ;  but  out  of  the  depths — could  I 
be  heard — I  would  cry  out  to  all  those  who  have  set  a  foot 
in  the  perilous  flood.  Could  the  youth,  to  whom  the  first 
flavour  of  wine  is  delicious,  look  into  my  desolation,  and  be 
made  to  understand  what  a  dreary  thing  it  is  when  a  man 
shall  feel  himself  going  down  a  precipice  with  open  eyes 
and  passive  will ;  to  see  his  own  destruction,  and  have  no 
power  to  arrest  it,  yet  feel  it  all  emanating  from  himself; 
to  see  all  godliness  empty  out  of  him,  yet  not  be  able  to 
forget  the  time  when  it  was  otherwise ;  to  bear  about  the 
piteous  spectacle  of  his  own  ruin ;  could  he  see  my  feverish 
eye,   feverish    with   last  night's    drinking,  and   feverishly 


12 


Talks  with   Youncr  Men. 


Tne  Glory  of  Young  Men. 


n 


looking  for  to-night's  repetition  of  that  folly;  could  he  but 
feel  the  body  of  death  out  of  which  I  cry  hourly  with 
feeble  outcry  to  be  delivered,  it  were  enough  to  make  him 
dash  the  sparkling  beverage  to  the  earth,  in  all  the  pride  of 
its  mantling  temptation  I  " 

Some  years  ago  a  stranger  stood  among  a  crowd  of 
visitors  under  the  dome  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.  Whilst  he 
was  gazing  upwards  in  silence,  and  striving  to  comprehend 
the  grandeur  and  immensity,  the  verger  touched  him  on 
the  shoulder,  and  bade  him  remove  his  foot  a  little  to  one 
side.  He  started  back,  and  saw  on  the  stone  floor  a  small 
cross,  cut  deep  by  a  mason's  chisel.  It  was  the  mark  of  a 
soul-murder ;  for  on  that  spot  had  a  young  man  fallen,  who, 
in  the  utter  hopelessness  of  his  despair,  had  thrown  him- 
self from  the  '*  whispering  gallery  "  above.  The  group  of 
visitors  gazed  upon  the  spot  in  silence,  awed  at  the  thought 
that  there  a  youth,  steeped  in  iniquity,  plunged  headlong 
into  eternity.  Ah  I  if  every  spot  on  the  pavements  of 
London  where  souls  have  been  murdered  were  marked 
with  a  chisel,  what  a  record  should  be  daily  before  our  eyes 
of  the  untold  misery  that  follows  in  the  wake  of  sin.  Oh,  is 
there  any  one  here  who  will  deny  that  to  a  young  man 
moral  weakness  is  a  disgrace,  and  moral  strength  a  pride 
and  glory. 

4.  The  glory  of  young  men  is  their  spiritual  strength.  I 
place  this  last,  but  it  is  the  most  important  of  all.  I  speak 
now  of  the  strength  of  religious  faith.  I  go  beyond  nature 
to  grace;  beyond  the  human  to  the  divine;  for  this  strength 
is  really  the  strength  of  God  made  yours  by  faith.  "  Let  him 
take  hold  of  my  strength,"  says  the  Lord ;  and  again,  ''  My 
strength  is  made  in  weakness."  A  mere  brute  may  surpass 
you  in  physical  strength  ;  a  Pagan  may  vie  with  you  in 
intellectual  strength  ;  even  an  atheist  may  compete  with 
you  in  moral  strength ;  but  when  you  come  to  this,  you 


\ 


leave  them  all  a  thousand  leagues  behind,  for  only  a 
believer  can  say  with  David,  "  He  strengthened  me  with 
strength  in  my  soul."  Ah  I  my  dear  friends,  without  the 
grace  of  God  in  your  hearts,  making  you  new  creatures, 
and  uniting  you  by  a  living  bond  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  all  the 
other  strengths  I  have  been  speaking  of  will  avail  you  little 
and  prove  but  empty  and  short-lived  glory.  Here  you 
come  to  something  that  lifts  you  up  to  another  platform 
altogether,  and  makes  you,  in  the  bold  language  of  St. 
Peter,  "  partakers  of  the  Divine  nature." 

Far,  far  below  his  true  d  gnity  must  man  remain,  until 
he  knows  the  God  that  made  him.  As  I  sauntered  in 
Highgate  cemetery  the  other  day,  musing  on  my  subject 
for  this  evening,  my  eye  caught  an  inscription  on  a  tomb- 
stone 'that  told  of  a  celebrated  pugilist  that  lay  buried 
beneath.  There,  cut  upon  the  stone,  was  a  medallion 
portrait  of  the  prize-fighter,  and  under  it,  the  figure  of  his 
dog ;  and  I  thought  within  me,  what  a  poor  distinction,  to 
have  been  famous  for  strength  of  bone  and  toughness  of 
muscle,  and  nothing  more  than  that !  Paltry  glory,  indeed  ! 
Young  man,  if  you  have  not  religion,  do  not  speak  of 
"glory."  There  is  no  glory  about  you.  The  highest  part 
of  your  nature  still  lies  waste  and  fallow.  You  have  a  soul 
— a  soul  created  in  God's  image,  and  vested  with  immor- 
tality— and  if  you  are  not  realising  that^  there  is  no  dignity 
about  you  ;  you  are  "  turning  your  glory  into  shame."  If 
you  want  to  kngw  where  a  young  man's  real  strength  lies, 
listen  to  St.  John  :  *'  I  write  unto  you,  young  men,  because 
ye  are  strong,  and  have  the  Word  of  God  abiding  in  you." 
There  is  the  secret.  God's  own  word,  and  especially  His 
record  concerning  Jesus,  dwelling  in  your  inmost  heart. 
This  is  the  helm  by  which  alone  your  course  through  life 
will  be  safely  steered.  It  matters  little  to  a  steamship  how 
powerful  her  engines  may  be,  if  she  have  no  rudder.     The 


\ 


14 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


stronger  the  engines,  the  more  needed  the  helm.  The 
greater  our  strength,  the  greater  our  need  of  guidance. 
The  boat-race  is  sometimes  won,  not  through  superior 
strength,  but  through  superior  steering :  and  many  a 
young  man  has  failed  in  life,  not  so  much  for  want  of 
strength,  as  for  want  of  good  steering.  Let  the  word 
of  God  abide  in  you,  and  you  will  be  led  aright. 
True  piety  will  be  a  blessing  to  you  on  every  side 
of  your  being.  Its  influence  is  every  way  healthful  and 
bracing.  If  your  life  is  ruled  by  faith  in  God,  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  you  will  be  healthier  and 
happier  than  you  could  be  without  it ;  for  he  who  does  not 
live  by  faith  lives  by  sense ;  and  sense  degrades  and  genders 
to  the  dust.  Oh,  brothers,  consecrate  yourselves  and  your 
life  to  God,  and  you  possess  a  strength  which  shall  never 
diminish  nor  decay.  The  outward  and  material  part  of  you 
indeed  may  perish,  and  even  your  intellectual  being  grow 
feeble  with  age,  but  there  is  one  part  of  you  that  shall  never 
know  weakness  nor  decrepitude. 

•*  This  spirit  shall  return  to  Him 

Who  gave  its  heavenly  spark ; 
Yet  think  not,  sun,  it  shall  be  dim 

When  thou  thyself  art  dark  ! 
No  1  it  shall  live  again,  and  shine 
In  bliss  unknown  to  beams  of  thina. 

By  Him  recalled  to  breath. 
Who  captive  led  captivity. 
Who  robbed  the  grave  of  victory^ 

And  took  the  sting  from  death  I* 


CALLED  TO  A  KINGDOM, 


««MiimMin^^miMM*MIMmfv> 


lifl 


I 


•*  /Ittd  as  they  were  going  down  to  the  end  of  the  city^  Samuel  said  f 
Saul,  Bid  the  servant  pass  on  before  us,  {and  he  passed  on):  but  stand 
thou  still  a  whiU^  tluU  I  may  show  thee  the  word  of  God.**''  I  Sam.  ix.  27. 


\     I    ■! 


i 


II. 


CALLED  TO  A  KINGDOM, 

I  AM  going  to  talk  with  you  this  evening  of  one  of  the 
most  singular  and  contradictory  characters  in  Bible 
story,  I  mean  Saul  of  the  Old  Testament.  He  belonged  to 
a  plain  but  respectable  family  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin.  His 
father,  Kish,  was  a  wealthy  and  influential  farmer,  his 
property  consisting  largely  of  live  stock.  It  happened  on 
one  occasion  that  a  drove  of  asses,  belonging  to  him,  had 
gone  astray  upon  the  mountains,  and  Kish  entrusted  his  son 
Saul  with  the  task  of  recovering  them.  Taking  a  servant  or 
attendant  with  him,  the  young  man  set  out  upon  the  ernmd; 
but  though  for  dayS  they  searched  in  all  directions,  they 
could  not  find  the  stray  cattle.  At  the  close  of  the  third  day 
they  began  to  despair  of  success,  and  Saul  proposed  to  his 
companion  that  they  should  give  it  up  as  a  bad  job.  But 
the  other,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  that  part  of  the 
country,  made  a  suggestion.  In  the  little  town  at  which 
they  had  now  arrived,  there  lived  an  eminent  prophet,  or 
"  seer,"  as  they  called  such  a  man  in  those  days  (because 
he  could  '*  see "  what  was  concealed  from  other  mortals)  ; 
and  the  proposal  was,  that  they  should  step  up  to  4iis  house, 
and  inquire  of  him  where  the  lost  asses  were,  or  what 
course  they  should  pursue.  "  Well  said,"  replied  Saul, 
*'  let  us  go."  As  they  were  on  their  way,  and  were  looking 
about  for  the  residence  of  Samuel,  they  met  a  man,  to  whom 
Saul  politely  said,  "  Can  you  kindly  tell  m^  where  the  seer's 


K. 


i8 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


Called  to  a  Kingdo7n. 


19 


house  is  ? "  "I  am  the  seer,"  replied  the  stranger ;  who 
told  them  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  preside  at  a  religious 
festival,  and  bade  them  go  on  before  him,  to  an  eminence 
to  which  he  pointed,  and  he  would  meet  them  there.  Much 
surprised  at  the  prophet's  language,  they  did  as  they  were 
instructed,  and  found  on  their  arrival  at  the  spot  that  about 
thirty  guests  were  assembled,  and  that  the  best  seats  were 
reserved  for  themselves,  as  though  they  had  been  expected. 
When  the  sacred  feast  was  over,  they  returned  to  Samuel's 
house  in  the  city,  and  found  that  the  prophet  had  provided 
accommodation  for  them  for  the  night. 

Next  morning,  at  daybreak,  Saul  was  roused  by  Samuel, 
who  gave  him  permission  to  return  home,  and  volunteered 
to  accompany  him  and  his  attendant  a  part  of  the  way. 
When  they  reached  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  the  prophet 
gave  Saul  a  hint  to  let  the  other  man  step  on  a  little  way  in 
advance ;  "  but,"  added  he,  looking  solemnly  into  his  face, 
"  stand  thou  still  a  while,  that  I  may  show  thee  the  word 
of  God." 

It  must  have  been  a  most  impressive  interview.  When 
it  was  over,  Samuel  took  out  from  within  the  folds  of  his 
mantle  a  vial  of  the  holy  consecrating  oil,  and  poured  its 
contents  on  the  young  man's  head.  He  then  gave  him  the 
kiss  of  salutation,  intimated  to  him  that  God  had  called  him 
to  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  announced  that  the  Spirit  from  on 
high  would  come  upon  him,  and  that  he  would  "  be  turned 
into  another  man,"  directed  him  as  to  his  course  of  action, 
and  earnestly  appealed  to  him  to  "rise  to  the  occasion." 
"Do  thou,"  said  he,  "as  occasion  serve  thee,  for  God  is 
with  thee." 

It  needs  no  great  stretch  of  imagination,  does  it,  to  see  in 
our  meeting  to-night  something  to  remind  us  of  the  incident 
in  our  text  ?  There  are  many  young  Sauls  here,  who  have 
got  their  life-work  before  them,  but  who  perhaps  do  not 


fl 


UA 


realize  what  a  grand  and  important  thing  life  is,  what  a 
noble  opportunity  they  have,  and  how  they  are  best  to 
fulfil  it ;  and  I  now  ask  you  to  step  aside  for  a  little  from 
the  world's  din  and  bustle,  and  reflect  on  the  great  future 
before  you,  and  listen  to  the  voice  that  speaks  to  you  from 
heaven  ;  in  short,  I  bid  you  "  stand  still  a  while,  that  I  may 
show  you  the  word  of  God."  It  is  of  immense  importance 
that,  at  the  outset  of  busy,  active,  responsible  life,  just  at 
the  time  of  opening  manhood,  there  should  be  a  pause  for 
serious,  thoughtful  reflection.  Many  of  you  are  precisely 
at  that  period  at  which,  presumably,  Saul  was  in  the  text ; 
and  no  better  counsel  could  I  give  you  than  that  you  should, 
so  to  speak,  call  a  halt,  and  looking  earnestly  on  your 
positioij  and  prospects,  inquire  what  the  Lord  would  have 
you  to  do.  I  shall  treat  the  subject  allegorically,  and 
mention  a  few  points  which  it  naturally  suggests. 

I.  Many  a  fine  young  fellow  is  occupying  his  time  and 
talents  in  a  way  that  is  hardly  worthy  of  him.  The  passage 
presents  to  us  a  fine,  tall,  strapping  youth,  "  a  choice  young 
man,  and  a  goodly,"  from  his  shoulders  and  upward  higher 
than  any  of  the  people.  There  wasn't  a  handsomer  man, 
says  the  historian,  among  all  the  children  of  Israel.  Well, 
when  I  see  that  noble-looking  youth  spending  his  days 
hunting  for  a  drove  of  donkeys,  I  feel  there  is  an  incongruity. 
I  cannot  help  it.  There  is  a  want  of  fitness  in  the  arrange- 
ment. I  don't  say  there  is  anything  mean  or  dishonourable 
in  wandering  over  the  mountains  searching  for  stray  cattle. 
Not  at  all.  In  some  respects  I  admire  the  young  Benjamite 
for  it.  He  obeyed  his  father's  wishes,  and  was  not  ashamed 
to  be  a  farmer's  son.  There  is  many  a  gentleman-farmer 
like  Kish  in  England  to-day,  who  cannot  get  his  boys  to 
take  to  agricultural  work  at  all.  Oh,  no,  they  are  too  fine 
for  that.  It  would  spoil  their  white  hands.  Work  in  the 
fields  is  not  for  them.     They  must  be  young  gentlemen. 


k. 


I; 


20 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


and  so,  with  their  smart  rings  and  gold-headed  canes,  they 
strut  forth,  and  look  with  disdain  upon  all  out-door  labour. 
Saul  wasn't  a  fool  like  that.     Still,   he  had  powers   that 
fitted   him  for  a  much  higher  kind  of  work  than  driving 
cattle.     His  bodily  stature  was  in  some  degree  typical  of 
his  mental  endowments.     I  don't  mean  to  say  that  tall  men 
are  necessarily  clever  men.     Certainly,  in  one  sense,  they 
are  looked  up  to  ;  and  we  can  almost  understand  the  old 
Scotch  lady's  feelings  when,  passing  in  the  street  a  young 
man   nearly   seven   feet   high,  she   gazed  upon    him  with 
wonder,  and  said,    "  Sir,  youVe  a  great    responsibility  I  " 
Lord  Bacon,  however,  seems  to  have  been  of  a  different 
opinion ;  for  he  somewhere  makes  the  remark,  that  "  nature 
never  puts  her  precious  jewels  into  a  garret  four  stories 
high  ;  and,  therefore,   that,  exceeding  tall  men  have  ever 
very  empty  heads."     Well,  we  shall  not  commit  ourselves 
to  one  view  or  the  other ;  but  this  we  do  say,  that  whatever 
a  man  is,  whether  in  physical  stature  or  mental  endow- 
ments, there  should  be  some  correspondence  between  these 
and  the  work  to  which  he  devotes  his   life.     There   are 
young  men — most  of  us  know  a  few  of  them — who  are 
simply  wasting  their  energies  ;  they  are  trifling  away  their 
time,  and  that  the  best  time  of  their  life ;  it  really  makes 
one  sad  to  see  them,  fine  young  fellows,  with  good  talents 
and  varied  gifts,  squandering  these  powers  on  foolishness  ; 
hunting  for  asses  on  the  mountains  of  Ephraim,  when  God 
has  called  them  to  a  kingdom  I 

II.  It  is  of  great  consequence  to  a  young  man  to  secure 
occasional  intervals  for  quiet  reflection,  when  his  mind  may 
be  brought  in  contact  with  the  Word  of  God.  Samuel  led 
the  youthful  Benjamite  out  of  the  city ;  and  when  they  got 
into  the  quiet  country  road,  he  sent  the  servant  away,  that 
he  might  have  a  few  minutes  alone  with  Saul ;  and  then  he 
bid  him  dismiss  all  thought  about  those  lost  asses;  "  but," 


Called  to  a  Kingdom. 


21 


added  he,  "  stand  thou  still  awhile,  that  I  may  show  thee 
the  Word  of  God."  Do  you  not  think  that  this  is  the  very 
thirg  that  many  of  you  need  ?  Do  you  not  feel  it  specially 
here  in  London  ?  You  want  to  get,  as  it  were,  "out  of  the 
city,"  away  from  its  roar,  and  bustle,  and  excitement,  and 
care ;  and  seize  a  little  quiet  time  for  reflection,  and  study 
of  the  Word  of  God.  Why  did  not  the  prophet  talk  with 
him  in  the  busy  street  ?  Why  did  he  first  conduct  him  to 
the  outskirts  of  the  town  ?  Because  stillness  is  favourable 
to  meditation.  "  Go  forth  into  the  plain,"  said  God  to 
Ezekiel,  *'  and  I  will  there  talk  with  thee."  The  youthful 
Isaac  used  to  meditate  in  the  fields  at  eventide.  Silence 
and  retirement  are  favourable  to  fellowship  with  God.  No 
young  man  can  be  in  a  right  state,  or  a  healthy  state, 
spiritually,  who,  from  morning  to  night,  and  from  one 
week's  end  to  another,  is  in  a  continual  flurry  and  bustle, 
and  does  not  make  a  point  of  securing  times  for  serious 
meditation.  Even  Christ  felt  that  He  required,  and  He 
made  a  point  of  securing,  occasional  intervals  of  solitude. 
But  there  are  some  folks  whom  you  cannot  get  to  sit  down 
quietly  and  think.     They  cannot  be  still. 

They  cannot  bear  to  ponder  and  consider.  Any  silly  tale, 
or  idle  song,  or  comic  entertainment  will  attract  them  ;  but 
they  have  no  soul  for  serious  things.  To  be  alone  for  half- 
an-hour  with  their  Bible,  is  the  last  thing  they  would 
dream  of. 

Young  man  I  be  sure  there  is  something  wrong  with  you, 
if  3'ou  can  live  without  seasons  of  retirement  for  prayer  and 
study  of  the  Word  of  God. 

And  the  busier  you  are  in  worldly  matters,  the  more  you 
need  this.  It  is  just  the  men  who  are  most  pressed  with 
commercial  or  public  affairs  that  should  be  most  scrupulous 
to  secure  that  they  have  time  for  devotion.  Not  only  does 
this  word  fittingly  come  to  the  mechanic,  to  the  artizan, 


23 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


Called  to  a  Kingdom, 


23 


it 


I'       I; 


r 


t! 


!*■ 


to  the  clerk,  but  to  you,  too,  my  Lord  Mayor,  to  aldermen 
and  common  councilmen,  to  all  who  are  "worried  and 
driven,"  as  they  tell  us,  from  morn  to  night — you  are  simply 
wasting  your  life,  if  you  do  not  daily  "  stand  still  awhile, 
that  you  may  know  what  is  the  word  of  God."  Many  is 
the  time  that,  in  walking  through  the  more  quiet  streets, 
I  have  been  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  climbing  fuchsia 
or  geranium  in  the  cottage  window  of  an  artizan  or  me- 
chanic; but  the  fairest  flower  I  ever  saw  was  not  so 
beautiful  as  the  family  Bible  I  have  sometimes  observed 
upon  the  table.  Take  the  Word  of  God  to  guide  you,  if 
you  want  to  meet  with  true  success. 

But  III.  What  was  the  great  fact  that  the  prophet 
announced  to  Saul?  It  was,  that  he  was  called  to  a 
kingdom  I  He  had  never,  dreamt  of  such  a  thing.  He 
had  been  occupied  seeking  his  father's  asses ;  but  a  throne 
and  a  crown  had  never  entered  his  mind.  It  was  a  new 
revelation  to  him.  He  had  been  living  infinitely  below 
the  level  of  his  vocation  and  destiny.  The  world  must 
have  seemed  a  new  world  to  him  when  he  learnt  that  he 
was  going  to  be  a  king. 

There  was  once  a  young  prince,  heir  to  the  throne  of 
Russia,  who  was  giving  himself  to  every  form  of  dissipation. 
He  took  up  his  residence  in  Paris,  and  entered  heartily  into 
all  its  gaieties.  One  evening,  as  he  was  seated  with  a 
number  of  young  profligates  like  himself,  drinking,  gamb- 
ling, and  making  merry,  a  message  was  privately  conveyed 
to  him  that  his  father  was  dead.  Pushing  away  from  him 
the  dice  and  the  wine  cup,  he  rose  up  and  said,  **  I  am 
Emperor  I  "  and  forthwith  announced  that  his  must  hence- 
forth be  a  different  kind  of  life. 

Young  men  I  I  have  to  tell  you  to-night  of  a  kingdom  to 
which  you  are  called  To  you  the  Lord  Jesus  says,  **  I 
appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  as  My  Father  hath  appointed 


unto  Me."     To  no  meaner  rank  are  you  to  aspire,  than  to 
that  of  **  kings  and  priests  unto  God." 

An  excellent  and  thoughtful  young  fellow  was  evincing 
a  deep  interest  in  religion,  and  attending  meetings  at  which 
he  hoped  to  receive  spiritual  benefit,  when  his  father,  who 
was  a  money-grubber  and  a  thoroughly  worldly  man,  said 
,  to  him  angrily,  "James,  leave  these  things  alone  just  now; 
your  first  business  is  to  make  money,  and  you  can  attend 
to  religion  afterwards."     The  lad  replied,  "Father,  Christ 
tells  me  differently,  for  He  says,  '  Seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom 
of  God,   and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you.' " 
That  youth  was  right.     But  how  few  there  are  like  him. 
Did  you  observe,  in  the  story  we  were  reading  just  now, 
that  when  the  day  came  that  Saul  was  to  be  actually  made 
king,    and    all   the   people    were   gathered   together    with 
Samuel  at  Mizpeh  for  the   purpose,   the  youth  was  "  not 
to  be  found."     Matters  came    to  a  deadlock.     They  could 
do    nothing   without    Saul,   and    they  could    not  find   him 
anywhere.     They  searched   in  all  directions,    but  without 
success.     At  last   they   inquired    of  the   Lord,   "  And    the 
Lord  answered,   Behold,  he    hath    hid   himself  amo'.g  the 
stuff.    And  they  ran  and  fetched  him  thenjce."     Saul  con- 
cealed amid  the  baggage,  perhaps  the  commissariat  for  that 
large  assembly  of  people ;  hidden,  tall  fellow  as  he  war, 
among  the  heap  of  boxes  and  baskets  of  all  kinds — is  he 
not  a  picture  of  many  a  young  man  here  whom   God  is 
calling  to  a  kingdom,  but  who  is  chin-deep  in  business,  so 
absorbed  with  worldly  matters  that  he  cannot  attend  to 
the  affairs  of  his  soul  ?     My  dear  young  brothers,  I  put  it 
straight   to  you,  are    not   some  of  you  "  hid    among   the 
stuff"  ?      Beware  I    Oh,  remember,    you    can't  feed   your 
immortal   soul  on  bank  cheques,    and   heavy   orders,  and 
good  investments.      The  briskest  business    in    London  is 
a  poor  affair  compared  with  the  amaranthine  crown. 


>ii 


24 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


But  how  many  of  you  never  think  of  that  kingdom  which 
it  is  "  the  Father's  good  pleasure  "  to  give  to  the  little  flock 
who  truly  follow  Him.     I  call  on  a  man  in  his  shop  or 
office,  and  as  soon  as  I  touch  the  verge  of  the  subject  of 
religion,   he   says,    "Shut   up,   we   get   plenty   of  that  on 
Sunday,"  as  though  religion  were  not  as  much  for  Monday 
and  Tuesday  as  it  is  for  the  first  day  of  the  week.     When 
Benjamin   Franklin  was   quite   a   youth,  the   old   Puritan 
fashion  of  saying  long  graces  at  meals  was  rather  irksome 
to  him.     A  large  cask  of  salted  provisions  for  the  winter 
had  just  arrived,  and  as   his  good  father  was  opening  it, 
Benjamin   suggested  that  it  would  be  a  good  plan  to  say 
a  grace  over  the  whole  supply  once  for  all,  '*  as  it  would 
be  a  great  saving  of  time."      So    there  are   some   people 
that  want  to  do  all  their  religion  on  the  Sunday,  and  bury 
themselves  "  in  the  stuff'"  up  to  the  neck  all  the  rest  of  the 
week,  and  when  God  calls  them  to  the  kingdom,  they  are 
"  not  to  be  found  !  "     Young  man,  imagine  every  one  else 
gone  out  of  this  building  but  yourself  and  the  preacher  I 
I  speak  to  you  confidentially  and  alone,  and  what  Samuel 
whispered  in  the  ear   of  Saul  that  day,  I  now,  in  God's 
name,  solemnly  intimate  to  you,  treat  the  message  as  you 
will— the  Lord  has  called  you" to  a  kingdom  and  a  crown  I 

IV.  Before  we  bid  each  other  good  night,  I  have  one 
point  more  to  bring  out  of  this  passage.  The  prophet  told 
Saul  that  he  must  be  "anointed,"  and  that  he  must  be 
"  turned  into  another  man."  Taking  out  from  within  his 
mantle  a  flask  filled  with  perfumed  oil,  he  motioned  to  the 
tall  youth  to  stoop;  and  then,  lifting  up  the  flask,  he 
emptied  its  contents  upon  his  head.  He  intimated,  more 
over,  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  would  come  upon  him,  and 
that  he  would  undergo  a  great  change— "thou  shalt  be 
turned  into  another  man."  I  think  you  will  all  perceive 
the  teaching  that  is  here.     It  is  a  true  story  ;  but  whether 


Called  to  a  Kingdom. 


25 


n 


-i 


\ 


you  take  it  literally  or  allegorically,  it  is  full  of  instruction. 
I,  too,  have  to  tell  you  of  an  anointing  which  each  of  you 
must  receive,  and  of  a  radical  change  which  each  of  you 
must  experience,  if  you  would  be  an  heir  of  the  kingdom 
of  God.  Scripture  leaves  us  in  no  ambiguity  here.  "If  any 
man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  His." 
*'  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  It  is  one  and 
the  same  truth  ;  for  what  is  the  new  nature,  without  which 
you  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom,  but  the  occupancy  of  your 
heart  by  that  Divine,  and  holy,  and  all-powerful  tenant — 
the  Third  Person  of  the  Blessed  Trinity.  "  Ah,"  you  say, 
"  I  fear  I  never  shall  be  a  Christian  of  the  right  sort.  I 
have  none  of  the  feelings  and  dcisires  you  seem  to  speak  of. 
It's  all  strange  to  me.  I  don't  understand  it."  No,  and 
never  will,  without  that  influence  from  above.  As  Christ 
told  the  Jews,  "  It  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth."  I  should 
have  no  hope  of  this,  or  of  any  sermon,  doing  one  particle 
of  good,  but  as  the  Holy  Ghost  opens  the  heart  to  receive 
the  truth.  But,  thct  mighty  Agent  is  here  to-night.  Oh 
that  He  would  make  us  conscious  of  His  presence  I  Some- 
times it  is  a  very  simple  sermon  that  He  makes- the  turning- 
point  in  a  man's  career.  I  have  seen  persons  "  turned  into 
other  men "  by  the  truth  they  have  listened  to  in  this 
place.  Some  one  was  speaking  the  other  day  to  an  emi- 
nent man  about  the  privileged  times  long  gone  by,  and 
observed,  "  Ah  !  those  were  the  days  of  great  preachers." 
*^  Yes,"  replied  the  other,  "  and  of  great  hearers  I "  And 
the  remark  was  true.  If  there  is  a  deal  of  bad  preaching, 
there  is  also  a  deal  of  bad  hearing ;  for  all  hearing  is  de- 
fective that  does  not  include  a  greediness  to  know  the  word 
of  God,  and  an  earnest  effort  at  the  personal  application  of 
it.  Coming  back  to  the  narrative  before  us,  which  we  have 
found  so  suggestive,  I  am  not  prepared  to  assert  that  young 


26 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


Saul,  though  he  became  a  changed   man,   became  a  new 
man ;  indeed,  I  fear  it  is  but  too  evident  from  his  after  hfe 
that  he  did  not ;  and  this  suggests  a  note  of  warning,  with 
which  I  shall  draw  to  a  close.    Observe,  there  is  a  difference 
between  being  turned  into  '^  another"  man,  and  being  turned 
into   a   ^'new"    man;   between  getting   ^'another"    heart 
and  getting  a  ''  new  "  heart.     Now  it  is  very  noticeable  what 
is  said  here  (x.  6).     "  Thou  shalt  be  turned  into  another 
man;"    and   again    (9),   ''God   gave   him  another  heart." 
There  could  be  no  mistake  that  some  sort  of  change  had 
passed   over   the  young  Benjamite.     His   old   friends  and 
companions  observed  it  at  once.     They  found  him  full  ot 
a  subject  he  never  used   to   touch,  or  care   about.     They 
heard  him  speaking  like  a  prophet  about  the  kingdom  of 
God.     ''  They  said  one  to  another,  What  is  this  that  is  come 
unto  the  son  of  Kish  ?     Is  Saul  also  among  the  prophets  ?  " 
as  though  they   had   exclaimed,   ^^ Hallo!  what's  up?     Is 
Saul  become  a  parson  ?  "     But,  for  all  that,  I  fear  he  was 
not  truly  converted  to  God.     Though  he  had  another  heart, 
he  had  not  the  new  heart.     If  you  look  to  our  old-fashioned 
version  of  the  Psalms,  you  will  see  that  in  some  cases  we 
have  two  translations,  or  renderings  in  metre  of  the  same 
Psalms.    Take,  ^.^.,  the  hundredth  ;  we  have  the  well-known 
long  metre,  "All  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell,"  and  then 
we  have  a  common  metre  version,  "  O  all  ye  lands,  unto 
the  Lord."     Well,  in  all  these  instances,  the  second  version 
is  thus  entitled,  "  Another  of  the  same."     And  this  very 
well  illustrates  the  change   that  came  over  Saul ;  he  got 
.  another  heart,  but  it  was  '*  another  of  the  same."     But  this 
is  not  enough  in  order  to  salvation.     "  A  new  heart  will 
I  give  you,  saith  the  Lord."     "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ," 
says  Paul,  "  he  is  a  new  creature."     1  am  now  addressing 
some   who    have   been   "turned   into   other   men."     You 
are  as  different    from  what   you    once    were   as  chalk  is 


Called  to  a  Kingdom, 


27 


t 


from  cheese.     Do  you  suppose  I  could  not  at  this  moment 
point  to  one  who  used  to  spend  his  spare  hours  drinking 
with  loose  companions,  or  frequenting  places  of  improper 
amusement?      Why,    in  those    days   you  never   came   to 
church,  nor  offered  a  prayer,  nor  opened  a  Bible  I     Thank 
God  it  is  different  .now.     Instead  of  rolling  in  your  bed  on 
Sunday  morning,  you  are  up  betimes,  and  "  love  to  hear 
the  solemn  bell,  that   calls  you  to   the  house  of  prayer.'* 
You  take  a  real  interest   in  religious    matters,  and  even 
drop  in  sometimes   at   the   weekly   service.     No  mistake 
about  it,  you  are  "  turned  into  another  man."     But,  O  my 
dear  brother,  that  is  not  enough.     You  must  be  a  new  man 
right  through.     You  must  be  born  again.     You  must  "  be 
created  anew   in   Christ  Jesus   unto   good  works."     This 
fallen  nature  cannot  enter  heaven.     No  mere  patching  up 
will  fit  you  for  the  presence  of  God.     No  human  quackery 
will  root  out  the  cancer  of  your  soul.     You  must  be  a  new 
man,  right  to  the  core,  or  you  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of 
God.     But,  as  Christ  taught  Nicodemus,  that  change  comes 
over  you  as  you  look  to   the  cross.     Fix  the  eye  of  faith 
upon  the  crucified  Redeemer.     Take  Him  as  your  substi- 
tute.    Bring  all  your  sin  to  that  rill  incarnadine  that  flowed 
from   His  open   wounds,  and  believe  its  cleansing  power. 
Good   night,    my  brothers;    may    God  turn  every  one  of 
you   into  a   new  man,  and  in  due  time  place  upon  your 
head  "  the  crown  of  life,  which  He  hath  promised  to  them 
that  love  Him  1  *     Amen. 


■■CilWirtiimnffl-n  ■^f-''"'-""'^'-^-^''-^---*^^ 


.r.^..  ■floS'»*-ilililKl*m!»K''  .''!3S*'i*'W. 


WANTED— A    MAN' 


\\ 


!i 


!      i  t 


"  Run  ye  to  and  fro  through  the  streets  ofJerusaletHy  and  see  now,  and 
knoWy  and  seek  in  the  broad  places  thereof^  if  y^  ^^^  fi^^  ^  Man,^* — 
Jer.  v.  1. 


111.^ 
WANTED— A    MANI 

J  J  Z  ANTED  a  Man! — What  was  so  hard  to  find  in 
^^  Jerusalem  three  thousand  years  ago,  is  not  too  plen- 
t  ful  in  London  to-day.  The  famous  Diogenes,  were  he  alive, 
might  walk  these  streets  at  noon  (as  he  once  did  the  streets 
of  Athens)  with  a  lighted  lantern  in  his  hand ;  and  when 
asked  what  he  was  doing,  might  reply,  "  I  am  seeking  for  a 
good  man."  One  day  he  stood  in  the  market-place,  and 
cried,  '*  Hear  me,  O  men  1 "  and  when  a  number  gathered 
round  and  inquired  what  was  the  matter,  he  replied,  "  1 
called  for  meHy  not  for  pigmies."  I  presume  it  is  because 
sages  and  philosophers  have  so  high  an  ideal,  so  lofty  a 
conception  of  what  it  takes  to  make  one  worthy  of  the 
name,  that  in  all  ages  they  have  complained  that  "  men  " 
were  so  few  ;  like  Herodotus,  who  wrote  Homines  permultiy 
viri perpauci,  i.e.,  '^  human  creatures  very  plentiful,  but  men 
very  scarce ;  "  or  that  cynic  of  whom  history  informs  us, 
that,  being  ordered  to  summon  the  good  men  of  the  city 
before  the  Roman  censor,  he  gat  him  straight  to  the 
churchyard,  and  there,  standing  on  a  grave,  called  to  the 
dead  below,  saying  he  knew  not  where  to  find  a  good 
man  alive ;  or  that  gloomy  sage  of  our  own  day,  Thomas 
Carlyle,  who  described  the  population  of  his  country  as 
consisting  of  so  many  millions,  "  mostly  fools." 

At  the  time  to  which  the  text  refers,  Jerusalem  was  in 
a  deplorable  state.     Vice  of  every  kind  walked  her  streets. 


If 


t 


32 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


Wanted— A  Man. 


33 


Her  commerce  was  worm-eaten  with  fraud.     Her  courts  of 
justice  were  stained  by  bribery.     Rich  and  poor  were  ahke 
corrupted.     Every  stratum  of  her  social  fabric  was  morally 
rotten.     So  that  it  was  hardly  possible  to  find  a  genuinely 
upright,  and  honourable,  and  godly  man  within  her.     And 
I  suppose  that  what  Jerusalem    was,    the   whole  land  of 
Palestine  was,   in   a  measure,  too.      The  country  follows 
the  town.      The  provinces  copy  the  capital.      Cities  rule 
the  world.      Rome  means  Italy.     Athens  means   Greece. 
Paris  means  France.     London  means  England.     You  may 
tell  me  that  all  the  scum  and  vagabondism  of  the  country 
gathers  into  the  cities,  so  that  they  do  not  fairly  represent 
the  nation.     But  I  answer  that  if  wickedness  culminates 
there,    so  does  righteousness,  too.      Nowhere  is  piety   so 
intense,  philanthropy  so  active,  Christianity  so  aggressive, 
as  in   the   crowded   streets  and   lanes  of   great   cities.     I 
have    been    criticised    for   sometimes   speaking,    in   these 
monthly    sermons,    as    though,   on    their    first    arrival    in 
town,  all  young  men  were  as  innocent  as  doves,  and  only 
began   to   know  what   vice    was  when  they  breathed  the 
atmosphere  of  London.     If  I  have  conveyed  that  impression, 
the  criticism  was  just.     I  believe  that,  in  some  parts,  the 
country    is    every   whit    as   bad    as    the    town.       Having 
myself  laboured  some    years    in  a  country    parish,  I  can 
speak  from  experience ;  and  I  do  say  that  certain  forms  of 
vice  are  as  rampant  there  as  here.     The  fact  is,  neither 
country  nor  town  has  much  to  boast  of      In  the  one   as 
well  as  the  other,  good  men  and  true  are  all  too  few. 
•     Jerusalem  at  this  time  was  in  an  exceptionally  bad  case. 
We  speak  of   Sodom  as    a  sink  of   wickedness,    because 
not  ten  righteous  men  could  be  found  in  it ;  but  the  Lord 
speaks  as  though  in  Jerusalem  hardly  one  could  be  found. 
He  had  threatened  terrible  judgments  upQU  the  city;  but 
(says  He,  through  His  prophet),  if  there  can  be  found  even 


"one  that  executeth  judgment,  and  seeketh  the  truth,"  He 
will  pardon  the  city  for  his  sake. 

Confining  myself  to  the  sentence  I  have  chosen  as  our 
text,  I  wish  to  read  it  with  a  special  emphasis  upon  the 
last  word,  and  to  inquire  what  be  the  elements  that  go  to 
constitute  one  worthy  of  the  noble  title  of  man.  Run  ye 
to  and  fro  through  the  streets  of  London,  and  see  now,  and 
know,  and  seek  in  the  broad  places  thereof,  if  ye  can  find 
—a  MAN  I  To  help  you  in  your  exploration,  I  shall  men- 
tion some  of  the  marks  by  which  you  can  recognise  him. 

I.  Look  out,  in  the  first  place,  for  one  who  has  a  con- 
science. I  am  quite  aware  that  by  many  this  is  held  to  be 
of  small  account.  I  have  even  heard  it  insinuated  that  to 
have  a  tender  conscience  is  a  token  of  weakness  and 
effeminacy.  Some  are  fools  enough  to  imagine  that  when 
they  have  silenced  that  inward  mgnitor,  and  stamped  it 
under  their  feet,  they  are  by  so  much  the  more  manly  and 
brave.  Foul  suggestion  of  the  devil !  One  of  the  grandest 
utterances  of  that  noble-minded  man,  St.  Paul,  was  this  :— 
"  Herein  do  I  exercise  myself,  to  have  always  a  conscience 
void  of  offence  toward  God  and  toward  men." 

But  a  clear  and  easy  conscience  is  not  a  benumbed,  a 
bribed,  a  muzzled  one.  A  true  man  will  aim  at  having  his 
conscience  so  healthily  active,  so  acutely  yet  not  morbidly 
sensitive,  that  it  shall  not  be  misled  by  any  specious 
reasoning,  nor  deceived  by  any  evil  example ;  but  will 
sharply  recoil  from  what  is  evil,  and  sting  its  possessor  if 
he  dare  to  yield  to  it.  I  am  fortunate  enough  to  have  a 
little  friend  here,  that  hardly  ever  tells  me  wrong.  So 
correct  is  my  watch  that  I  have  learnt  to  trust  it.  As  1 
am  walking  out  some  day,  I  may  find  that  it  differs  from 
the  clock  on  the  church  steeple,  or  from  the  timepiece  over 
a  shop  door,  or  from  the  chronometer  of  a  friend  I  meet ; 
but  such  reliance  have  I  learnt  to  place   on  this   faithful 


:t  . 


Ta/Jks  with   Young  Men, 


\ 


34 

servant  of  the  pocket,  that  I  say  :  "  These  are  out  of  order ; 
for  my  watch  always  keeps  true  time."  And,  when  a 
man's  conscience  has  been  rightly  set,  and  beats  with  the 
deep  throbbings  of  the  great  heart  of  God,  it  will  be  a^  safe 
standard,  and  worthy  to  be  trusted. 

Do  you  tell  me  that  life  is  so  difficult,  and  commerce  so 
involved,  that  you   cannot  get  along  and  keep  your  con- 
science clear  ?     Then,  I  say,  you  cannot  aftbrd  to  get  along. 
Talleyrand  replied  to  a  man  who,  by  way  of  excusing  his 
want  of  conscientiousness,  said  to  him,  '^  Why,  you  know  I 
must  live;'  "  I  do  not  see  that  at  all."     There  is  no  special 
reason  why  you  should  live ;  but  there  is  a  special  reason 
why  you  should    "in  conversation  be  sincere,"  and  keep 
« conscience  as  the  noontide  clear."     If  you  cannot  main- 
tain your  integrity  and  succeed,  then  less  success  with  a 
good  conscience  will  be  a  greater  gain.     At  the  same  time, 
1  do  not  fall  in  with  the  supposition  you  make.     It  is  very 
rarely  indeed  that,  even  as  regards  this  world,  dishonesty 
proves  a  good  policy.     Strict  fidelity  is  an  article  of  high 
commercial  value.     The  profits  may  not  come  at  once,  but 

they  do  come. 

We  see  a  good  deal  around  us  that  makes  it  very  needful 
I  should  address  to  you  such  words.     Does  it  speak  well 
for  our  country,  let  me  ask,  that  men  can  be  found  wor- 
shipping God   in  church  on  Sunday,  who  on  Monday  will 
be  rashly  gambling    away   other    people's  money  on  the 
Stock  Exchange ;  or  by  tempting  prospectuses  and  clever 
devices,  be  raising  bubble  companies,  and  bringing  ruin  on 
*    those  who  confide  in  them  ?     Rather  would  I  be   Long- 
fellow's honest  blacksmith,  who  "  looks  the  whole  world  in 
the  face,  and  fears  not  any  man,"  than  be  the  unprincipled 
speculator,  who  enriches   himself   at   the  sacrifice  of  his 
conscience   and  of  the  blessing  of  heavpn.        Be   true  to 
your  conscience,  whatever  it  may  cost  you.     You  throw 


Wanted — A  Man. 


35 


away  your  noblest  dignity,  and  tread  your  honour  in  the 
dust,  the  moment  you  tamper  with  principle ;  you  cease  to 
be  worthy  of  the  name  of  man.  It  is  not  wealtii,  nor 
rank,  nor  fame,  that  constitutes  true  glory.  As  Burns 
wrote  (and  a  sounder,  healthier  poem  was  never  penned) : — 

•*  A  prmce  can  mak'  a  belted  knight, 
A  marquis,  duke,  an^  a'  that ; 
But  an  honest  man's  aboun  his  might. 
Quid  faith,  he  mauna  fa'  that." 

A  sentiment  which  Pope  also  has  expressed  : — 

"  A  wit's  a  feather,  and  a  chief  a  rod  ; 
An  honest  man's  the  noblest  work  of  God.* 

II.  If  you  are  hunting  for  "  a  man,"  look  out  for  a  being 
that  has  a  heart.  I  am  using  the  word  in  its  popular  sense, 
and  mean  a  warm,  loving,  affectionate  nature.  How  is  it 
that  some  persons — I  fear  I  must  say  some  young  men 
(though  none  of  them  are  here) — are  silly  enough  to  imagine 
that  any  tenderness  of  this  kind  is  unmanly,  and  a  thing  to 
be  ashamed  of?  I  have  met  with  those  who  prided  them 
selves  on  being  "  all  head  and  no  heart,"  as  though,  for- 
sooth, a  cold,  unfeeling  nature  had  some  affinity  with  intel- 
lectual vigour.  Quite  a  mistake.  If  you  have  not  a  heart, 
my  friend,  you  are  not  a  complete  man.  Never  be  ashamed, 
of  having  strong  domestic  affections.  Never  be  ashamed  of 
betraying  emotion  when  you  hear  a  tale  of  woe,  or  of  shed- 
ding a  tear  over  another's  sorrow.  It  is  the  bravest  and 
manliest  of  young  men  that  are  the  most  easily  touched  by 
some  kind  allusion  to  their  paternal  home,  and  that  speak 
most  fondly  of  a  precious  mother  or  a  little  sister.  Amid 
all  the  remarkable  successes  of  the  noble  Garfield,  nothing 
stirred  his  energy  more  than  the  thought  of  the  gratification 
that  would  be  given  to  his  mother's  heart.  However  busy 
he  might  be,  he  always  found  time  to  write  a  letter  home, 
and  tell  all  that  he  was  doing.     The  man  who  is  fondly 


w,*^ 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


I 


w 


36 

attached  to  his  parents,  is  the  man  whose  affections  a  maiden 
may  deem  herself  happy  to  secure.  And  I  will  say  this 
though  you  may  smile  at  it,  that  it  often  wields  an  excellent 
and  wholesome  influence  upon  a  young  man,  when  he^has 
already  found  one  whom  he  can  place  in  the  centre  of  his 
affections.  There  are  two  persons  that  have  more  to  do 
with  a  man's  life  than  all  others  put  together ;  the  one  is  his 
mother,  the  other  his  wife ;  in  regard  to  the  former  you  have 
no  choice,  but  in  regard  to  the  latter  you  have;  God  grant 
that  that  choice  may  be  wisely  made. 

Ill    If  you  want  to  find  "  a  man,"  look  out  for  a  being  who 
hasasoul^lme^n^\.^t  is  capable  of  earnest,  serious,  solemn 
thought.     Tried  by  this  standard,  it  must  be  owned  that 
many  of  the  youth  of  London  do  not  merit  the  name  of  men, 
so  frivolous,  so  giddy,  so  vain,  so  given  to  levity,  that  they 
seem  unable  to  entertain  a  religious  idea.     Once   a   man 
stood  stunned  at  the  first  sight  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara ;  when 
he  got  his  breath  back,  and  the  people  standing  by  were  all 
expecting  an  explosion  of  descriptive   eloquence,  he  only 
said  ''  I  wonder  how  much  machinery  all  this  would  turn  I 
Well,  they  are  telling  us  now  that  there  is  enough  power 
there  when  converted  into  electricity,  to  lighten  the  world  I 
When  1  look  upon  the  vigorous  young  manhood  that  we 
have  in  this  metropolis,  I  find  myself  saying.  What  a  power 
is  here,   if  rightly  applied  and  employed,  to  illumine  our 
whole  land!     But,    what  are  thousands   doing?     Simply 
wasting  that  power,  throwing  it  away.     Dugald  Stewart 
.  tells  us  of  a  man  who  was  busy  for  fifteen  years  trying  to 
balance  a  broom  on  his  chin.      Positively,  I  see  many  who 
are  scarcely  better  employed.     I  put  down  a  good  deal  of 
this  folly  and  inanity  to  trashy  reading.     I  tell  you,  1  am 
sometimes  sheer  amazed  when  in  a  tram-car,  or  railway 
carriage,  to  see,  on  glancing  over  the  shoulder  of  a  young 
man  seated  beside  me,  the  mH^v  rubbish  which  he  is  reading. 


Wanted— A  Man, 


Z7 


There  are  tons  of  sensational  literature  sold,  and  greedily 
read  every  year,  which  had  much  better  have  been  turned 
into  a  bonfire  ;  for  the  moral  evil  thus  wrought  is  incalcul- 
able. Never  read  a  book  which,  if  your  most  wise  and 
thoughtful  friend  were  to  come  upon  you  perusing,  you 
would  instantly  snatch  up  and  stow  away  out  of  sight.  A 
man  is  not  '•  a  man,"  if  he  does  not  feel  he  has  within  him 
a  spark  of  immortality,  and  that  he  has  been  created  for 
something  higher  and  nobler  than  idle  pleasure  or  material 

pelf. 

There  are  those  whom,  it  is  true,  we  cannot  upbraid  on 

the  ground  of  their  indolence  and  frivolity ;  and  yet,  they 
seem  impervious  to  spiritual  conviction,  being  completely 
absorbed  with  business.     The  truth  is,  they  can  think  of 
nothing  else.     Up  to  the  neck  in  bills,  and  accounts,  and 
invoices,  and  orders,  they  have  not  a  corner  of  their  heart, 
or  of  their  time,  for  matters  religious;  and,  probably,  they 
are  honest  enough  frankly  to  say  so.     I  sometimes  think 
when  I  look  at  a  particular  column  of  the  newspapers  (which 
I  confess  I  scarcely  understand),  Oh  that  men  were  as  eager 
for  the   Heavenly  world   as  they  are  for  this  I— ^'  Money 
stringent.     Stock  market  depressed.    Cotton  steady.    Petroleum 
dull.   Lard  active,  but  drooping.     Wheat  and  corn  weaker,  and 
less  doing.      Flour :  bu  ers  more  free.      Coffee  quiet.      Sugar 
firm.     Iron  quiet:'      Such  is  a  specimen  of  the  language  of 
commerce,  which  tells  how  intently  men  are  seeking  after 
worldly  gain,  and  how  they  rack  their  brains  to  secure  it. 
But,  if  no  higher  aims  dominate  the  soul,  can  this  be  called 
a  noble  pursuit  ?     Does  it  elevate  or  dignify  ?    Does  it  tend 
to  produce  "  men  "  ?    I  fear  the  opposite  is  too  true.    Gold- 
smith hinted  as  much,  when  he  wrote  : — 

"  III  fares  the  land,  to  hastening  ills  a  prey, 
"When  wealth  accumulates,  and  men  decay." 

I  was  struck  the  other  day  with  those  lines  which  Robert 


i  il 


Talks  ^nth  Young  Men. 


Wanted— A  Man. 


39 


38 

Burns  sent  to  an  intimate  friend ;  showing  that,  amid  all 
his  levity  and  excess,  he  had  some  moments  of  deep  serious- 
ness : —  ^  ^ 
"  The  voice  of  nature  loudly  cries— 

And  many  a  message  from  the  skies— 

That  something  in  us  never  dies : 

That  on  this  frail  uncertain  state 

Hang  matters  of  eternal  weight ; 

That  future  life,  in  worlds  unknown, 

Must  take  its  hue  from  this  alone  ; 

Whether  as  heavenly  glory  bright, 

Or  dark  as  misery's  woeful  night. 

Since  then,  my  honour'd  first  of  friends, 

•  On  this  poor  being  all  depends. 

Let  us  th'  important  NOW  employ, 

And  live  as  those  who  never  die." 

Fancy  poor  Burns  writing  a  sermon  like  that !  With  all  his 
faults,  he  had  a  grand  conception  of  the  dignity  of  man ; 
and  in  his  soberest  moments  even  he  felt  that  then  only  is  a 
man  complete,  when  he  recognises  his  spiritual  and  im- 
mortal part,  and  lives  for  something  higher  than  the  present 

world. 

IV.  In  your  search  for  "  a  man,"  don't  forget  to  look  for  a 
being  that  has  a  mind.     I  think  it  important  to  remembeT 
(and  I  would  wish  to  make  it  specially  clear  in  these  monthly 
sermons),  that  our  Divine  religion  is  given  us,  not  merely  to 
save  souls,  but  to  save  man,  man  in  the  entirety  of  that 
complex  life  which  Christ  Himself  assumed  and  redeemed. 
Every  educational  movement,  therefore,  which  aims  at  the 
'  truer  culture  of  the  intellectual  life  should  have  the  cordial 
support  of  the  Christian  teacher,  who  ought  to  strive  to 
make  it  increasingly  manifest,  that  Christianity  is  a  Divinely- 
created   institution  for  elevating  and  ennobling   humanity 
in  every  aspect  of  it.      See  to  it,  gentlemen,  that  you  never 
give  countenance  to  the  absurd  idea  which  infidelity  has 
sought  to  encourage,  that  there  is  a  close  connection  between 


earnest  piety  and  mental  imbecility;  that  it  is  only  the 
simple  and  weak-minded  who  embrace  the  gospel ;  and  that 
as  the  brain  is  cultured,  and  the  reasoning  faculty  developed, 
there  is  more  and  more  disposition  to  discard  the  Bible.  It 
would  be  the  easiest  thing  possible  for  me  to  name  in  one 
breath  half-a-dozen  liying  men,  who  stand  in  the  front 
ranks  as  profound  thinkers,  men  imequalled,  or  at  least 
unsurpassed,  in  respect  of  robustness  of  intellect  and  ex- 
tensive knowledge,  who  are  at  the  same  time,  not  only 
nominal  Christians,  but  fervent  and  devout  believers  in 
Jesus.  Do  not  be  afraid  that  in  cultivating  your  minds  you 
will  weaken  the  foundations  of  your  piety.  Give  all  the 
time  you  can  to  reading  and  study,  but  let  the  books  you 
read  be  sound  and  wholesDme.  If  you  let  the  mind  lie  fal- 
low, if  you  never  try  to  think  for  yourselves  on  the  great 
questions  of  the  day,  if  you  live  only  a  kind  of  vegetable  and 
animal  existence,  then,  even  though  your  moral  character  is 
unimpeachable,  I  cannot  concede  to  you  the  title  of  tully- 
developed  men. 

"  Were  T  so  tall  to  reach  the  pole, 
Or  grasp  the  ocean  with  my  span, 
I  must  be  measured  by  my  soul  ; 

The  mind's  the  standard  of  the  man." 

V.  In  your  efforts  to  find  "  a  man,**  you  must  further  seek 
for  a  being  who  possesses  a  will.  Strong  moral  determination. 
Decision  of  character.  The  power  to  say  "  Yes,"  and  to  say 
"No,"  as  conscience  and  duty  prompt ;  and  to  say  it  with  a 
crisp  emphasis  that  shows  you  mean  it,  and  will  not  be 
moved  from  your  purpose.  The  brute  is  guided  by  its 
instincts  and  passions ;  it  is  the  glory  of  man  to  keep  his 
foot  upon  his  animal  nature,  and  to  hold  the  reins  of  appe- 
tite with  a  tight  hand.  It  is  no  sin  to  be  tempted ;  but  it  is 
a  sin  to  hesitate  for  a  moment  in  the  presence  of  temptation. 
Beware  of  the  first  false  step.      You  are  weakened  immea- 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


i  f 


40 

surably  from  the  instant  that  you  have  yielded  to  the  tempter. 
One  thread  broken  in  the  border  of  your  virtue,  you  cannot 
tell  how  much  of  it  will  now  unravel.    "  Keep  thyself  pure," 
wrote  Paul  to  young  Timothy ;  for  one  leak  may  sink  the 
ship ;  one  little  trickle  through  the  sea- dyke  may  precede 
the  inrushing  of  the  ocean.     You  who  have  yielded  to  vice, 
but  are,  to-day,  sincerely  bent  on  living  a  better  life,  is  it 
not  true  what  I  say  ?     You  would  give  the  world  to  undo 
the  first  evil  step  you  took,  and  you  give  me  leave  to  say 
in  your  name  to  those  here  who  are  still  unpolluted  in 
the  flesh,  "  For  God's  sake  hold  your  ground  firm  ;  as  you 
value  your  future  peace,  keep  a  mile  away  from  every  sin 
against  the  body."     Look  not  upon  the  wine  when  it  giveth 
its  colour  in  the  cup ;  pollute  not  your  lips  with  language 
unbefitting  the  most  refined  society ;  shun  with  loathing  the 
dissipated  orgies  of  the  loose  spirits  who  hang  about  the 
casino  or  the  tavern  door;  recoil  with  horror  from  thesolicita- 
tion  to  unchastity ;  and  repel  with  indignation  every  attempt 
to  entrap  you  into  the  first  betting  transaction.      The  youth 
who,  in  the  vortex  of  pleasure,  in  the  gleaming  of  the  wine 
cup,  in  the  whirl  of  gaiety,  in  the  beastliness  of  lust,  in  the 
hallucinations  of  narcotics,  in  the  excess  of  riot,  and  in  the 
boisterousness  of  unclean  mirth,  drowns  all  that  there  is 
about  him  of  purity,  and  principle,  and  honour,  do  I  call 
him  a  "  man  "  ?     God  forbid  that  I  should  so  degrade  the 
title  !     Nay,  he  is  a  poor  contemptible  thing,  beneath  the 
level  of  the  brute,  more  akin  to  a  devil  I 

VI.  I  go  still  further  and  bid  you,  in  your  search  for 
"a  man,"  look  out  for  one  who  has  a  creed.  It  has  been 
said  that  the  natural  bias  of  youth  is  infidelity.  Young 
men,  we  are  often  told,  have  a  strong  tendency  to  scep- 
ticism, because  it  seems  to  emancipate  the  mind  from  every 
form  of  superstition,  and  because  it  removes  the  moral 
restraints  by    which    conscience   is    fettered.      The  more 


Wanted— A  Man. 


41 


reason  you  should  sternly  guard  against  it.  The  youth 
who  has  no  "  I  believe  "  of  his  own,  is  like  a  straw  upon 
the  sea,  or  a  feather  in  the  air,  carried  about  by  every 
varying  current.  He  cannot  be  restful,  or  happy,  or  strong. 
Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  at  a  time  when  he  had  everything 
that  wealth,  and  gay  so.ciety,  and  worldly  distinction,  and 
literature  could  supply  to  make  hinr  happy,  said  with  a 
sigh  "  There  is  no  man  I  envy  so  much  as  the  man  who 
has  a  firm  religious  belief."  When  Dr.  Dwight  entered 
upon  the  presidency  of  Yale  College,  he  found  that  a  large 
number  of  the  young  men  were  infidels ;  and  so  proud 
were  they  of  being  so,  that  they  actually  assumed  the 
names  of  the  principal  French  and  English  Atheists.  One 
was  Voltaire,  another  was  Paine,  a  third  was  Hume,  a 
fourth  was  Bolingbroke,  and  so  on.  Now  the  scepticism 
of  these  young  men  was  not  the  result  of  study  and  care- 
ful thought,  but  came  from  that  natural  prejudice  against 
religion  which  exists  in  our  fallen  nature  :  for,  when  the 
president  had  summoned  thera  together,  to  enter  into  a 
full  discussion  of  the  subjects  on  which  they  based  their 
unbelief,  they  one  after  another  became  ashamed  of  their 
principles,  and  heartily  renounced  them. 

Man,  as  God  created  him,  is  a  religious  b^eing 
this,  even  more  than  reason  and  intell 
not  without  these),  that  distinguishes 
animals.  They  cannot  know  their  Creator.l/ 
pray.  The  belief  in  the  infinite,  the  hope  of  immortality, 
thoughts  that  wander  through  eternity,  they  have  none  of 
these.  The  religious  capacity,  the  spiritual  faculty,  the 
power  of  realising  the  invisible,  is  the  prerogative  of 
humanity.  If  you  are  without  a  creed,  if  you  have  no 
religious  belief,  you  come  short  of  that  which  is  your 
highest  glory.  Of  intellectual  difficulties  and  painful  doubts 
I   must  always    speak    with    respect,    if  those  who   have 


It  is 

y  ar^ 

l0v7er 

cannot 


42 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


Wanted— A  Man. 


43 


^ 


them  are  sincerely  seeking  the  light;  but  how  many  of 
our  modern  doubters  are  vain  and  frivolous,  and  have 
never  taken  the  pains  to  examine  the  evidences  on  which 
Christianity  is  based  I  I  deliberately  say  to  you,  young 
men,  if  you  are  to  rise  to  the  grandeur  of  your  being, 
and  to  be  crowned  with  that  halo  of  dignity  which  your 
Creator  originally  threw  around  your  head,  you  must  have 
a  distinct  and  intelligent  creed ;  and  on  your  minds  must 
be  stamped  a  firm  belief  in  God,  in  Christ,  and  in  immor- 
tality. 

VII.  At  the  risk  of  wearying  you,  I  must  add  one  point 
more.     Seven  is  the  complete  number,  and  I  dare  not  stop 
short  of  what  I  am  now  going  to  mention.     I  have  urged 
you,  in  your  search  for  "  a  man,"  to  seek  for  a  being  that 
has  a  conscience,  a  heart,  a  soul,  a  mind,  a  will,  a  creed, 
— to  all  these  let  me  add,  a  faith.     I  use  the  word  in  its 
Pauline   sense,   as  a  spiritual  faculty,  a  vital  and   saving 
apprehension    of  the  truths  of  the    Gospel.      The  living 
union  which  our  first  parent  had  with  God  was  snapped 
by  sin,  and  till  it  is  reformed  by  grace,  you  come  short  of 
being,  in  the  highest  sense,  a  man.     "  By  faith,"  says  St. 
Peter,  "  we  become  partakers  of  the  Divine  nature :  and 
only  then  do  we  reach  the  true  glory  of  the  human,  when 
we  thus  touch  the  Divine.     Well  and  truly  says  the  poet 
Young,  "A  Christian  is  the  highest  style  of  man."     He  is 
one  who,  by  humble  repentance  of  his  sins,  and  sincere 
trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus  as  his  Saviour,  has  escaped  from 
•  the  curse  of  an  offended  Deity,  and  has   turned   his  face 
towards  Heaven.     Say,  was  the  aim  of  Jonathan  Edwards 
too  high,  when  he  wrote  in  his  diary  :    "  Suppose  there 
were   to  be  but   one  man  in  the  world   at  a  time,  in  all 
respects  what  a  Christian  ought  to  be,  shining  in  all  the 
graces  and  excellences  of  true  piety,  resoPued,  by  the  grace 
of  God,   to  be  that  man"?     Oh,  let  no  meaner  ambition 


•# 


fire  your  soul.  The  model  is  provided  for  you  in  Jesus 
Christ,  and  nothing  less  are  you  to  strive  after,  than  to 
"  walk  even  as  He  walked."  Cicero  of  old  declared  that 
it  took  an  age  to  produce  one  good  poet,  and  it  almost 
seems  as  though  it  took  an  age  to  produce  one  true  man. 
But  why  should  not  every  one  of  us  aspire  to  this  ?  Why 
should  not  "  we  all  come  (in  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God)  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto 
the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ"  ? 


rn 


ji  { 


AN   ARTISAN.    YET  A    GENTLEMAN. 


M 


1* 


I 
H 


»l 


**  Am/^  because  he  was  of  the  same  crafty  he  abode  with  them,  and 
wrought :  /or  by  their  occupation  they  were  tentmakers.'*—A.CT^  xviii.  3. 


4 
1 


IV. 

AN'  ARTISAN,   YET  A   GENTLEMAN, 

IF  ever  a  thorough  gentleman  walked  this  earth,  it  was 
the  Apostle  Paul.    To  begin  with,  he  was  a  gentleman 
in  the  highest  and  best  sense  of  the  word.     I  mean  in  refine- 
ment of  mind,  in  courteous  manners,  and  in  consideration 
for   the   feelings   of   others.     He   was   a   gentleman,    too, 
by  education.     He  had  been   to   college,  and  had  enjoyed 
the  exceptional  privilege  of  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Professor 
Gamaliel,  who  was  one  of  the  most  learned,  and  cultured, 
and  eminent  men  of  his  time ;  an  LL.D.,  "  a  doctor  of  the 
law,  had  in  reputation  among  all  the  people."     Moreover, 
Paul    was    what   is  called    "a  gentleman   by   birth."      He 
belonged  to  a  good  family.     His  father,  though  residing  in 
Cilicia,    was  a   Roman   citizen,   for  Paul  tells  us  he   was 
"free   born";    and    we    know    that    a    provincial   could 
become   a    Roman  citizen   only   in    two  ways,  either   by 
reason  of   eminent   public  services,  or  by  purchasing  the 
privilege  with  a  great  sum  of  money.     In  every  sense  of 
the  word,  then,  Paul  was  a  perfect  gentleman.     But  my 
text  tells  us   he  was   also   an   artisan,  and   it    is   to   this 
fact   that   I   wish  to  call  your  attention  this  evening.     He 
worked   at  a  trade,  and  that  not  a  very  light  or  pleasant 
one,   as   we   shall   see  presently ;    and  when   I    see  him. 
seated  for  weary  hours  in  the  humble  dwelling  of  Aquila 
and  his  wife  at  Corinth,  weaving  into  a  kind  of  coarse 
ca  vas  the  black  strong-smelling  goats'  hair,  out  of  which 


48 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


'!l  '  ij 


11  t 


the  commoner  class  of  tents  was  made,  and  earning  his 
daily  bread,  like  the  humblest  working  man,  by  the  toil 
of  his  own  hands,  I  learn  a  lesson,  much  needed  in  pur 
day,  as  to  the  dignity  of  manual  labour. 

Now,  perhaps  you  are  wondering  what  could  have  led 
the  young  man  to  select  this  particular  branch  of  trade  ? 
I  think  you  may  put  it  down  to  the  simple  circumstance  of 
his  having  been  born  in  the  town  of  Tarsus.     The  staple 
manufacture  of  that  place  was   the  making  of  hair-cloth. 
Enormous  quantities  of  goats'  hair  were  supplied  by  the 
flocks  of   the   Taurus   mountains,  and   were  sold    by  the 
shepherds  to   the  Greek  shippers  of  the  Levant.     It  was 
plaited  into  ropes,  and  woven  into  a  kind  of  rough  cloth, 
which  served   for  tent-covers,   and   rugs,  and  the  beds   of 
the  poor.     This  strong  impervious  cloth  was  called  cilicium, 
from   Cilicia,  the  province  in  which  it  was  produced,  and 
was  sold  in  large  quantities  in  the  markets  of  Italy  and 
Greece.     One  purpose  to  which  it  was  extensively  applied 
was  the  making  of  small  rude  tents,  which  were  in  much 
demand  by  travellers,  pedlars,  and  chapmen  ;  and  also  by 
the  military  for  their  encampments.     No  doubt  Paul  learnt 
this  handicraft  at  a  very  early  age,  and   was  quite  familiar' 
with  it      He   would    sit   for   hours  —  ay,    long    after   he 
became  a  preacher  and  an  apostle — weaving  that  hair,  and 
cutting  and    sewing  cilicium  into  tents  and  coverlets,   his 
hands  black  with  the  dirt  and  grease,  and  his  nose  offended 
with  the  repulsive  odour.     A  nasty,  unsavoury  job  it  was. 

And  the  tent-making  business  was  as  unremunerative  as 
it  was  disagreeable.  It  was  miserably  paid.  You  might 
toil  "  night  and  day,"  as  Paul  sometimes  did,  and  yet  not 
earn  enough  to  live  upon. 

You  may  wonder  that  a  gentleman's  son  was  apprenticed 

« 

to  such  a  trade.     There  is  no  mystery  about  the  matter. 
It  was  an  enactment  of  the  Jewish  religion  in  ancient  times 


An  Artisan^  yet  a  Gentleman. 


49 


i 


V 


k^ 


(and,  for  aught  I  know,  is  so  to  this  day),  that  every  boy 
— no  matter  what  his  rank  might  be,  or  the  wealth  that 
would  fall  to  him,  or  the  learned  profession  he  proposed  to 
enter — should  be  taught  some  handicraft.  Here  are  the 
very  words  of  the  Jewish  Talmud,  ^*  What  is  commanded 
of  a  father  towards  his  son?  To  circumcise  him,  to  teach 
him  the  law,  and  to  teach  him  a  trade."  One  of  the 
ancient  Rabbis,  indeed,  goes  so  far  as  to  say,  ^*  He  that 
teaches  not  his  son  a  trade,  does  as  though  he  taught  him 
to  be  a  thief."  It  is  certain,  from  the  liberal  and  costly 
education  which  Paul's  father  gave  him,  putting  him  under 
the  care  of  the  eminent  Dr.  Gamaliel,  that  he  intended  his 
son  for  a  professional  life  ;  but  none  the  less  imperative 
was  it  that  the  youth  should  learn  how  to  use  his  hands, 
and,  if  need  be,  earn  a  living  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow. 

A  very  sensible  arrangement.  Little  could  Paul's  parents 
have  conjectured  the  sort  of  life  their  boy  had  before  him, 
with  its  innumerable  hardships  and  privations ;  but  many 
was  the  time  when  their  wisdom  was  illustrated,  and  his 
own  hands  had  to  ''  minister  to  his  necessities,"  aye,  *^  and 
to  the  necessities  of  those  that  were  with  him."  Those 
horny,  stained,  toil-worn  hands  of  the  Apostle  teach  us  an 
important  lesson,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  I  would  try  to" 
bring  out  that  lesson  to-night. 

I  believe  that  the  time  has  come  for  a  revolution  in  this 
country.  Don't  be  alarmed.  I  mean  a  quiet  and  peaceable 
revolution  in  our  whole  mode  of  looking  at  this  question  of 
manual  labour.  I  am  not  vain  enough  to  imagine  that  my 
words  can  have  much  influence;  but  if  all  the  preachers 
in  the  land  were  just  to  combine  in  setting  forth  New 
Testament  views  upon  this  subject,  I  believe  a  large  amount 
of  good  would  be  done.  No  doubt  the  press  would  then 
take  up  the  matter,  and  eventually  create  a  change  of 
public   opinion    which    would  prove    an    enormous   bless- 

4 


'I 


, 


50 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


ing  to  the  country.  One  of  the  greatest  social  problems 
of  the  day  is — What  are  we  to  do  with  the  thousands 
of  yeung  lads  who  are  now  growing  up  to  manhopdj 
and  are  unable  to  find  an  opening  either  in  the  pro- 
fessional or  commercial  world  ?  Is  there  a  vacancy  of 
that  kind,  instantly  there  is  an  eager  crowd  of  aspiring 
candidates,  for  all  of  whom,  save  one,  bitter  disappointment 
is  in  store.  We  cannot  for  a  moment  doubt  that  there  is 
work  for  every  human  being  whom  God  sends  into  the 
world  ;  but  we  have  so  disarranged  the  balance  of  things — 
dishonouring  manual  labour,  and  exalting  the  more  refined 
and  (as  we  .call  them)  genteel  forms  of  industry — that 
matters  have  almost  come  to  a  dead-lock ;  and  hundreds 
of  parents  are  complaining  they  can  find  nothing  for  their 
sons  to  do. 

Now,  the  first  thing  we  have  to  do  is  to  erase  from  the 
minds  of  these  young  gentlemen  (as  I  wish  to  erase  from 
every  one  of  your  minds)  the  idea  that  work  with  the 
hands  is  something  to  be  ashamed  of.  I  am  perfectly 
aware  that  I  am  saying — and  going  to  say — what  is  un- 
palatable to  the  ears  of  some  who  now  hear  me.  A  genera- 
tion has  nearly  gone  since  Thackeray  did  good  service  by' 
writing  his  "  Book  of  Snobs ;  "  but  the  race  he  ridiculed  is 
not  yet  extinct,  and  should  there  be  one  of  that  kidney 
here,  who  treats  with  contempt  the  honest  sons  of  toil,  and 
is  busy,  whilst  I  am  speaking,  in  admiring  his  white  hands 
and  studying  his  rings,  I  can  imagine  the  castigation  which 
St.  Paul  would  give  him;  and  I  can  picture  that  accom- 
plished man — a  greater  preacher  than  Chrysostom,  a 
greater  missionary  than  Xavier,  a  mightier  reformer  than 
Luther,  a  grander  theologian  than  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  a 
prince  among  men,  the  noblest  and  most  perfect  gentleman 
that  has  lived  since  Christ  was  in  the  flesh— I  can  picture 
him   looking   with    scornful  indignation   on   the  prim  and 


An  Artisan,  yet  a  Gentleman.  51 

scented  dandy,  and,  holding  up  his  own  hands,  stained  and 
begrimed  with  stitching  the  tarpaulin  of  Cilicia,  1  can  hear 
him  exclaiming,  *'Ye  yourselves  know  that  these  hands 
have  ministered  unto  my  necessities,  and  to  them  that 
were  with  me  I  "  Our  Creator  never  intended  that  man 
should  look  upon  manual  toil  as  a  disgrace;  indeed, 
man,  as  first  created  by  God,  in  all  the  nobleness  and 
dignity  of  his  original  state,  was  set  to  '*  dress  and  keep  " 
the  garden  in  which  he  was  placed.  Not  a  doubt  of  it,  he 
had  plenty  to  occupy  and  exercise  his  mind  in  Eden ;  the 
noblest  powers  of  his  being  would  be  called  into  play;  but 
the  physical  work  allotted  to  him  would  be  rather  con- 
ducive than  otherwise  to  mental  health  and  activity. 

Now,  there  is  a  mischievous  notion  prevalent  among 
certain  circles,  that  a  lad  apprenticed  .to  any  handicraft  is 
socially  inferior  to  the  youth  who  sits  on  a  high  stool  eight 
hours  of  the  day  with  a  pen  over  his  ear.  Parents  will 
rather  send  their  boys  to  starve  in  an  overcrowded  pro- 
fession, or  to  earn  a  scanty  pittance  as  clerks,  than  hear  of 
them  degrading  themselves  by  entering  any  industrial 
pursuit.  We  applaud  men  like  Carlyle  and  Ruskin,  who 
teach  the  dignity  of  labour ;  but  the  worst  of  it  is,  that 
whilst  we  applaud  our  teachers,  we  disregard  their  lessons. 
The  warehouseman,  or  manager  of  a  good  City  business, 
trains  his  sons  to  regard  all  manual  labour  as  degrading, 
and  sends  them  out  into  the  world  as  ill-paid  clerks,  with 
little  prospect  of  bettering  their  position.  There  is  an 
increasing  number  of  young  men  growing  up  in  the  midst 
of  us,  who  turn  up  their  noses  at  all  muscular  exertion 
(unless  it  be  in  the  form  of  cricket  or  other  athletic  sports) ; 
who  speak  with  contempt  of  the  working  classes;  and  who 
wish  to  be  paid  a  salary  without  ever  soiling  their  fingers, 
or  throwing  ofl'  their  best  coat.  We  hear  people  talking 
like  idiots   of  "  blue  blood,"  and    aristocratic  connections, 


t  ifl 


I 


! 


Hi 


ll 


I 


11 


li     t 


I     I 


52 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


and  social  status ;  and  indoctrinating  young  folks  into  the 
idea  that  honest  trade  and  useful  handicraft  are  beneath 
their  notice;  and  then  complaining  that  there  are  ^o 
genteel  berths  to  be  had,  and  that  a  promising  young 
man  can  get  nothing  to  do.  Why  I,  for  one,  have  fifty 
times  more  respect  for  the  cheerful  and  industrious  me- 
chanic, the  carpenter,  boiler-maker,  brass-founder,  or  other 
active  workman,  than  I  have  for  the  young  gentleman  who 
is  hanging  about  idle,  because  he  cannot  find  an  opening 
to  suit  his  refined  and  cultivated  taste.  Occupation,  yes, 
and  particularly  physical  occupation,  is  an  excellent  aid 
to  a  happy  and  contented  mind.  I  have  seen  a  stage  coach 
daily  driven  by  a  man  of  ;£i  0,000  a  year,  because  he  was 
wretched  without  regular  muscular  exertion.  I  have  heard 
of  a  nobleman  who,  for  the  same  reason,  bargained  with 
the  cutler  of  the  village  to  be  allowed,  for  a  certain  time 
every  day,  to  turn  his  grinding-wheel.  If  you  visit  the 
Louvre  in  Paris,  you  may  see  with  your  own  eyes  the 
anvil  at  which  Louis  XVL  was  in  the  habit,  with  a  smith's 
apron  on,  of  making  locks,  in  order  to  divert  his  mind. 
The  merest  tyro  in  anatomy  will  tell  you  that  the  human 
frame  is  evidently  intended  by  its  Maker  for  real  stern 
work,  and  that  those  are  the  likeliest  to  be  healthful  and 
happy  who  make  a  full  use  of  their  physical  powers.  It  is 
all  very  well  for  our  schools  to  teach  grammar,  and  Latin, 
and  Greek  ;  but  they  should  also  give  attention  to  technical 
education,  and  see  that  the  youths  are  trained  to  a  know- 
ledge of  practical  mechanics. 

It  is  more  than  time  that  the  silly  and  mischievous 
prejudice  I  have  been  speaking  of  should  be  banished  out 
of  our  land.  It  does  not  exist  in  other  countries  to  any- 
thing like  the  extent  to  which  it  prevails  \vt  England.  In 
Germany  and  Switzerland  it  is  deemed  no  degradation  to 
the  sons  of  the  highest  in  the  land  to  learn  a  trade;  and  in 


An  Artisan,  yet  a  Gentleman,  53 

Turkey  all  the  young  princes  are  taught  some  hanaicraft, 
so  that,  should  misfortune  befall  them,  they  will  be  able  to 
earn  their  own  bread.  But  with  us,  unhappily,  it  is  not 
so;  a  certain  stigma  is  supposed  to  rest  upon  manual 
employ ;  and  I  am  told  that  in  the  mansion  of  a  certain 
noble  family,  a  large  oil  painting  of  one  of  the  sons  is 
actually  kept  turned  with  its  face  to  the  wall,  and  under- 
neath is  scratched  the  contemptuous  inscription,  "Gone 
into  trade  I "  Now,  some  people  will  say  to  me,  "  This  is 
hardly  a  subject  for  a  Sunday  evening."  I  beg  to  differ 
from  them.  You  would  be  amazed,  upon  inquiry,  to  find 
how  constantly  St.  Paul  refers  to  it.  I  could  turn  to  at 
least  ten  passages  in  which  he  emphasises  the  dignity  of 
labour.  In  almost  every  one  of  his  epistles  he  dwells  upon 
it.  I  do  not  deny  that  it  is  a  secondary  matter  (and  I  shall 
not  forget  the  primary  matter  before  we  bid  each  other 
good  night) ;  but  it  is  one,  I  believe,  of  growing  importance. 
It  is  a  question  which,  whether  we  like  it  or  not,  will  force 
itself  upon  our  attention. 

But  I  have  this  to  say,  and  I  wish  I  could  say  it  in  the 
ears  of  ten  thousand  of  the  sons  of  toil,  that  if  our  text 
teaches  us  that  the  true  gentleman  may  be  a  workman,  it 
not  less  teaches  that  the  working  man  should  be  a  true 
gentleman.  The  truth  cuts  both  ways.  Mechanical  toil  is 
not  necessarily  degrading;  but,  from  what  is  often  seen 
around  us,  a  person  might  well  be  forgiven  for  thinking  so. 
You  haven't  far  to  go  to  witness  sights  and  listen  to  sounds 
that  might  tempt  you  to  say  some  very  strong  things  about 
the  English  working  man.  None  know  this  better ^than  the 
good  men  who  do  exist  amongst  their  own  number.  What- 
ever my  political  notions  are  (and  this  is  not  the  place  to  ven- 
tilate them),  I  am  under  no  temptations  to  Radicalism  here. 
Don't  let  any  one  suppose,  from  what  I  have  said,  that  I  am 
bidding  for  popularity  among  the  masses.    In  all  conscience 


54 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


w 


i  li 


I 

\ 

■ 


there  is  little  occasion  to  flatter.  One  may  see  any  day,  in 
an  average  group  of  tinsmiths,  joiners,  painters,  French 
polishers,  bricklayers,  and  so  forth,  quite  enough,  if  higher 
principles  did  not  prevail,  to  sicken  him  against  Democracy. 
There  is  no  reason  in  the  world  why  these  men  should  not 
be  refined  and  gentle  in  their  manners,  orderly  in  their 
behaviour,  polite  and  courteous  in  their  conversation;  in 
other  words,  why  they  should  not  be  gentlemen  as  truly  as 
any  country  squires — and  some  of  them  are  so,  all  honour 
to  them.  But,  for  the  majority,  why,  speak  of  being 
gentlemen,  they  are  hardly  men.  Their  rough  language, 
their  coarse  jests  and  uncouth  manners,  their  abominable 
selfishness,  their  love  of  drink,  their  constant  use  of  the 
word  "  blood,"  their  incapacity  for  enjoying  any  elevating 
recreation,  their  greed  and  improvidence,  their  want  of 
self-respect,  are  sufficient  to  repel  and  disgust  every  cul- 
tured mind.  If  you  think  this  is  too  severe,  I  will  give  you 
a  sentence  from  one  of  their  own  journals,  a  working  man's 
paper,  that  is  alwaj^s  ready  with  its  hard  hits  upon  genteel 
and  well-to-do  people: — "So  far  as  railway  travelling  is 
concerned,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  genteel  people  have  • 
some  reason  upon  their  side.  The  ordinary  British  work- 
man, when  returning  home  in  the  evening,  is  occasionally 
too  much  addicted  to  the  use  of  sanguinary  expletives,  and 
to  lighting  his  pipe  when  he  does  not  happen  to  be  in  a 
smoking  carriage.  Until  the  happy  time  arrives,"  adds  the 
writer,  "when  every  man,  whatever  his  occupation,^  is  a 
gentleman  in  manners,  the  refined  people,  who  dread 
personal  contact  with  fustian  and  corduroy,  will  do  well 
either  to  keep  a  distance  from  them,  or  to  swallow  down 
their  prejudices,  and  become  missionaries  of  courtesy  and 
culture  to  the  class  below  them." 

It  will  not  do  to  put  down  this  barbaric  roughness  to  the 
nature  of  their  work.     There  is  nothing  necessarily  degrad- 


An  Artisan,  yet  a  Gentleman,  55 

ing  in  manual  labour.  There  is  no  reason  why  there 
should  not  be  as  much  true  refinement  in  a  blacksmith's 
shop,  or  in  a  builder's  yard,  as  in  a  squire's  drawing-room. 
Paul's  work  was  quite  as  dirty  and  rough  as  any  ordinary 
working  man's  needs  to  be.  The  material  he  worked  with 
for  the  making  of  tents  was  coarse  and  greasy,  and  tough  as 
leather;  so  that  Chrysostom  speaks  of  him  as  o-kOtoto/lio?,  or 
a  leather  cutter,  and  one  of  the  Latin  Fathers  refers  to  him 
as  sutor^  or  the  shoemaker.  And  yet  this  hard-worked 
artisan  was  as  perfect  a  gentleman  as  ever  lived.  He  had 
the  manners  of  a  prince,  ay,  far  better  manners  than  many 
of  the  princes  of  this  world. 

I  hope,  then,  that  we  have  learnt  something  this  evening 
by  visiting  that  back  shop  of  Aquila  at  Corinth.  We  see 
that  a  man  may  labour  with  his  hands,  and  labour  at  very 
rough  sort  of  employment,  and  labour  for  very  small  wages, 
without  being  in  any  sense  rude  or  coarse  himself.  We  see 
that  occupation  in  a  humble,  honest  handicraft  is  perfectly 
compatible  with  a  cultured  mind  and  a  refined  deportment. 
And — we  see  something  more — that  constant  week-day  work 
does  not  necessarily  interfere  with  a  holy  and  well- spent 
Sabbath. 

Observe  what  immediately  follows  our  text:  "And  he 
reasoned  in  the  synagogue  every  Sabbath,  and  persuaded 
the  Jews  and  the  Greeks."  A  man  of  extraordinary  intel- 
lectual power,  Paul  was  also  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
was  able  to  get  through  an  amount  of  work  that  might  have 
taxed  the  energies  of  half-a-dozen  ordinary  men.  He  was 
fired  with  one  passion,  as  the  next  verse  goes  oft  to  state* 
<'he  was  pressed  in  spirit,  and  testified  to  the  Jews  that 
Jesus  was  the  Christ."  Himself  saved,  a  holy  zeal  consumed 
him  to  be  instrumental  in  saving  others.  Sitting  at  his 
toilsome  trade,  he  had  much  sweet  communion  with  his 
God,   and   many  an  enrapturing  discovery  of  the  majestic 


i  1 


',      !: 


Hili 


3i 


iW 


t 


56 


Ta/^s  with  Young  Men, 


grandeur  of  Christ's  redemption.  He  would  throw  awaj 
his  rough  shears  and  bodkin  when  his  day's  task  was  done, 
and  rush  in  amongst  the  godless  groups  in  the  Corinthian 
market-place,  and  entreat  them  to  repent  of  their  wicked- 
ness, and  turn  unto  the  Lord ;  and  with  such  success,  that, 
as  the  8th  verse  states,  "  many  of  them  hearing,  believed, 
and  were  baptized."  He  went  almost  beyond  himself  in  the 
intensity  of  his  earnestness  to  save  the  people  of  that  wicked 
and  adulterous  city.  At  Athens,  as  the  previous  chapter 
evinces,  he  had  adopted  a  poetic  and  rhetorical  style,  and 
standing  on  Mars'  Hill,  and  stirred,  probably,  by  the  classic 
scenes  around,  had  delivered  a  splendid  and  eloquent  ora- 
tion, in  which,  nevertheless,  there  was  but  slender  allusion 
(and  none  at  all  by  name)  to  the  Divine  Redeemer,  and  not 
even  the  mention  of  His  cross ;  but  little  impression  seems 
to  have  been  made.  He  vows  now  that  he  shall  proceed  on 
different  lines  at  Corinth.  He  solemnly  determines  this 
with  himself  (see  his  ist  epistle),  that  he  *'  will  know  . 
nothing  among  them,  save  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified." 
Although  before  his  eye  there  were  the  deep  blue  waters 
of  the  iEgean,  dotted  with  a  hundred  islands,  and  the 
snowy  summits  of  Helicon  and  Parnassus  glowing  in  the 
western  sun,  he  would  not  be  tempted  to  adorn  his  teaching 
with  poetic  quotations  or  philosophic  grandiloquence;  but 
trusting  to  the  simple  grandeur  of  his  message,  and  to  the 
mighty  power  of  the  Spirit  from  on  high,  he  would  tell  of  a 
Saviour's  love. 

Nor  did  such  faithfulness  miss  its  reward.  For  in  a  vision 
of  the  night  the  Lord  came  to  him,  and  said,  '^  Be  not  afraid, 
but  speak,  and  hold  not  thy  peace,  for  I  am  with  thee,  and 
no  man  shall  set  on  thee  to  hurt  thee,  for  I  have  much 
people  in  this  city."  Ah  I  here  you  have  the  secret,  at  once, 
of  his  robust  manliness  and  of  his  high  refinement.  Cha- 
racter makes  the  man ;  and  there  is  no  character  so  strong 


An  Artisan,  yet  a  Gentleman,  57 

and  so  beautiful  as  that  which  is  based  upon  a  real  personal 
knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not  bejewelled  fingers,  nor 
smart  attire,  nor  aristocratic  airs,  that  entitle  one  to  what 
Tennyson  calls 

"  The  grand  old*name  of  gentleman, 
Defamed  by  every  chalatan, 
And  soiled  with  all  ignoble  use." 

.  As  hare  says,  in  his  *^ Guesses  of  Truth,"  "A  Christian  is 
God  Almighty's  gentleman."  Get  a  living  grasp  of  Christ  ; 
rely  on  His  merits,  breathe  His  spirit,  and  walk  in  His' 
steps ;  and  whether,  like  Nehemiah,  you  are  cup-bearer  to 
the  king ;  or  like  Paul,  stitching  canvas  in  a  back  shop  in 
Corinth,  you  will  be  able  to  command  the  respect  of  all— 
will  live  beloved,  and  will  die  lamented.  Only  gird  your- 
selves fearlessly  to  the  task  God  has  set  before  you,  and— 

■•  With  a  heart  for  any  late, 
Still  achieving,  still  pursuing, 
Learn  to  labour  and  to  waiu** 


I 


r.'  'I 
I 

.      5 
1 


J 


i 


■I    ^  ! 


h« 


PUTTING    AWAY  CHILDISH    THINGS. 


Nf^ 


i 


l>^<^^*M^^M^«^«i«'«WWI><^ 


*tefi«im^>!f^.'jWj«)l(»»,j»fflM*!«Bra«> 


Hh  1, 


li 


."    ML 


li 


i! 


*'  ^f%^»  /  ^^<:a;//^  a   mam,  I  pui  away  childUh  things^'—i    CoR. 


XUU   II. 


M 


V. 


PUTTING   AWAY    CHILDISH   THINGS. 

IT  would  be  interesting  to  know  at  what  age  Paul  reckoned 
himself  to  have  become  a  "  man."     The  first  reference 
to  him  in  Scripture  is  on    the    occasion  of  St.    Stephen's 
martyrdom,  when  he  is  called  "  a  young  man  ;  "  and  many 
years  after  this,  in  writing  his  Epistle  to  Philemon,  he  styles 
himself  *'Paul  the  aged."     It  is  very  evident,  from  all  that 
the  Bible  and  tradition  tell    us  of  him,  that,  even  apart 
from  the  ennobling  influence  of  religion,  he  was  a  person 
of  a  manly  bearing.     I  do  not  refer  to  outward  or  physical 
appearance.     Tradition   tells  us  he  was  small  of  stature, 
and  far  from   handsome  in  form.     Nicephorus,  writing  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  says,  '*  Paul  was  short  and  dwarfish 
in  stature,  and,  as  it  were,  crooked  in  person,  and  slightly 
bent."     Renan  calls  him  ^^the  ugly  little  Jew."     Paul  him- 
self acknowledges   that    the  people   of   Corinth  sneeringly 
spoke  of  his  bodily  presence  as  '^weak."     But  history  has 
furnished   many  an  instance  of  a  noble  and  commanding 
spirit  enshrined  in  a  poor  little  frame  of  flesh  and  blood. 
It  would  be  the  easiest  thing  possible  for  me  to  name  quite 
a  string  of  men  who  have  made  themselves  famous  in  the 
Church,    in  politics,   in  war,  and   in  literature,   but  who, 
though  mentally  and   morally  powerful,  were  exceedingly 
diminutive  in  body.     Manhood   is  not  to  be  measured  by 
stature.     You  may  stand  over  six  feet  high,   and  still  be 
childish  in  nature. 


I 


I    ti 


«iiSil««s'w(tei»-t ;  '.StW^sWCMssW^iMiK 


4< 


62 


If. 


\0  . 


lii 


III 


Tal^s  with  Young  Men. 


Neither  is  manhood  to  be  estimated  by  age.  Many  a 
person  is  a  mere  child  at 'forty,  while  there  are  youths  jn 
their  teens  who  bear  all  the  marks  of  well-developed  men. 
Some  of  you  will  remember  Shakespeare's  true  words  : — 

"  We  live  in  deeds,  not  years  ;  in  thoughts,  not  breaths  ; 
In  feelings,  not  in  figures  on  a  dial ; 
We  should  count  time  by  heart  throbs  ;  he  most  lives 
Who  thinks  most,  feels  the  noblest,  acts  the  best" 

When  Solomon  enjoins  the  pursuit  of  wisdom,  he  adds, 
"For  length  of  days,  and  long  life,  shall  it  add  to  thee." 
What  is  the  difference  between  "  length  of  days "  and 
"long  life"?  Ah!  there  is  a  great  difference.  A  man 
may  drag  out  an  existence  of  four-score  years,  and  yet 
hardly  have  lived  at  all  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word  ; 
whereas  a  youth,  cut  off  in  the  very  opening  of  his  days, 
may  have  crowded  into  a  brief  span  the  thought  and  the 
work  of  a  life-time.  That  life  is  to  all  intents  the  longest, 
however  brief  or  protracted  be  its  outward  term,  into 
which  the  largest  amount  of  mental  activity  and  practical 
usefulness  is  condensed. 

**  They  err  who  measure  life  by  years, 
With  false  or  thoughtless  tongue  ; 
Some  hearts  grow  old  before  their  lime  } 
Others  are  always  young. 

**  'Tis  not  the  number  of  the  lines 
On  life's  fast-filling  page — 
'Tis  not  the  pulse's  added  throbs, 
Which  constitute  our  age." 

The  real  man  is  he  who  has  put  away  childish  feelings, 
childish  fancies,  childish  follies.  I  don't  know  from  what 
time  Paul  dated  his  majority,  but  I  can  safely'say,  we  find 
nothing  childish  in  his  character  or  conduct  from  the  first 
moment  he  appears  in   history.     Even  as  Saul  the  perse- 


X 


. 


Putting  away  Childish  Things,  63 

• 

cutor  and  the  enemy  of  Christ,  he  bore  the  stamp  of  a 
courageous,  vigorous,  energetic  nature.  Nothing  mean  or 
little  about  his  character.  In  his  career,  as  has  been  often 
remarked,  we  see  a  great  sinner,  a  great  persecutor,  a  great 
blasphemer ;  and  then,  a  great  believer,  a  great  preacher, 
a  great  apostle. 

But,  Paul  was  once  a  child  like  the  rest  of  us,  and  was 
not  ashamed   to    say  so.       There   was    no   extraordinary 
precocity  about  him  in  those  tender  years,  that  marked  him 
out  from  the  other  children  of  Tarsus.     When  he  attended 
the  village  school,   and  at  thirteen  years  of  age,  probably, 
was  placed  under  the  care  of  Gamaliel,  he  was  just  like  the 
other  young  people  of  his  time;    he  spake,  and   thought, 
and  understood  as  they  did.      There  was  no  outstanding 
brilliance   of  intellect,  or  quickness    of  apprehension,    or 
power  of  expression  that  distinguished  this  boy  from  the 
other  boys.     It  is  interesting  to  know  this.     I  do  not  think 
that,  as  a  rule,  remarkably  clever  and  precocious  children 
turn    out   the   best.      They  often  disappoint.      When  the 
.  fruit  ripens  prematurely,  it  is  seldom  of  the  finest  quality. 
People  talk  flatteringly  of  "  old  head  on  young  shoulders." 
I  confess  I  have  no  great  pleasure  in  seeing  such  a  thing. 
I  like  to  see  a  young  head  on  young  shoulders ;  and  believe 
it  will  turn  out  the  best  head  in  the  end.     When  one  is  a 
child,  it  is  best  that  he  should  speak  as  a  child,  and  under- 
stand as  a  child,  and  think  as  a  child  ;  but  it  is  a  terribly 
sad  thing  when,  with  advancing  years,  the  intelligence  and 
thought   and   language    show    no    signs    of   development. 
There  are  few  trials  which  a  parent  can  know  more  bitterly 
painful  than  to  see  a  child  arrested  in  its  mental  growth, 
continuing  pleased  and  diverted  with   infantile  toys,  until 
the  conviction  is  irresistible  that  it  is  an  imbecile.     To  see 
one  of  eighteen,  twenty,  or  twenty-five  years  of  age  still 
pleased    with  the  gewgaws  of   the  nursery,   is    indeed    a 


64 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


distressing  sight;  when  he  "becomes  a  man,"  we  expect 
him. to  "put  away  childish  things." 

First  of  all,  apply  this   to  your  pleasures  and  recreations. 
Grown-up  men  need  diversion  as  well  as  children      You 
will  scarcely  meet  with  any  persons  who  prefer  to  work 
without  variety,  and  who  never  seem  to  wish  for  a  holiday 
And  ,f  you  do  chance  to  meet  with  such  eccentric  folks' 
they  are  not,   as  a  rule,  people  to  be  imitated   or  envied' 
He  who  made  us  capable,  not  only  of  performing  work  but' 
of  enjoying   rest,   has  adapted  us  for  manifold   recreation 
and  has  provided  ample  means  for  our  innocent  enjoyment' 
But  the  character  of  an  individual's  mind  will  often  be 
accurately  told  by  the  kind  of  diversion  he  most  relishes 
What  to  one  affords  intensest  pleasure,  will  to  another  be  a 
burden  and  a  trouble.     Miss  Marsh,  in  one  of  her  books 
says,  that  an  English  navvy's  notion  of  supreme  felicity  is 
to  sit  before  a  public-house  fire,  with  a  glass   of  good  ale 
and  a  fiddle  going;  and  was  it  not  Dr.  Johnson  who  asserted 
m  a  moment  of  conviviality,   that  "  a  tavern  chair  is  the 
throne  of  human  happiness."    There  is  not  a  more  hopeful 
feature  of  the  moral  and  social  condition  of  the  people  in 
our  day,  than  the  remarkable  improvement  that  has  taken 
place  in  their  conceptions  as  to  how  to  enjoy  themselves; 
and,   thanks  to  the   unwearied   exertions   of  the  friends  of 
temperance,  it  is  beginning  to   be  realized  by  multitudes 
who  a  few  years  ago  would  have  laughed  at  the  idea,  that 
It  IS  quite  possible  to  thoroughly  enjoy  a  holiday  without 
the  aid  of  alcoholic  stimulants.    .  Little  cause  as  we  have  to 
boast  of  the, mode  in  which  the  masses  still  elect  to  spend 
their  hours  of  play,  there  is  a  marvellous  contrast  as  we 
think  of  the  habits  of  two  hundred  years  ago,  x,^hen  popular 
amusements  were  not  only  of  a  frivolous  but  of  a  vicious 
character,  and  consisted  largely  in  tormenting   the  lower 
animals.     Within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  where  I  am  now 


Putting  away  Childish  Things.  65 

standing  his  Majesty's  bear-garden  existed  in  the  beginning 
of  last  century,  the  scene  of  every  revolting  and    brutal 
sport ;  bull-baiting,  and  cock-fighting,  and  other  disgusting 
pursuits    were    the   favourite   pastimes    of    London ;    the 
Sabbath  Day  was  given   up  by  thousands  of  all  classes  to 
bacchanalian  revelry,  and  many  a  district  of  the  metropolis 
turned  into  a  pandemonium.     You  may  not  expect  to  hear 
me  in  the  pulpit  make  much  reference  to   such  things  as 
the    Fisheries    Exhibition,    the    Hygienic    Exhibition,    the 
Royal  Academy,  the  Grosvenor  Gallery,  the  Bethnal  Green 
Museum,  and  so  forth;  but  I  cannot  understand  an  intelli- 
gent Christian  man,  who  knows  how  the  Londoners  diverted 
themselves  even  in  the  last  century,  not  rejoicing  to  see  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  who  flock  to  these  places  of  instruc- 
tive recreation. 

Still,  one  cannot  walk  our -streets  with  his  eyes  open 
without  seeing  many  a  grown-up  baby,  many  a  man  whose 
beard  seems  to  grow  faster  than  his  brain,  and  who  finds 
his  pleasure   in  the  most  contemptible  levities.     I  believe 
there  is  hardly  one  of  you  that  would  not  speak  with  even 
fiercer  scorn  than  myself,  of  that  very  low  type  of  juvenile 
manhood  that  struts  upon  the  pavement  with  jaunty  hat, 
and  startling  breast-pin,  and  superfluous  walking-cane,   and 
vulgar  wit,  and  any  amount  of  brass  both  in  his  face  and 
in  his  jewellery.     Such  creatures  should  be  either  laughed 
or   hissed   out  of  society.      I  never  can  look  for  any  good 
from  a  young  man  who  has  not  thorough  self-respect.    Self- 
conceit  is  weakness ;  self-respect  is  strength.     Self-respect 
gives  dignity  to  your  bearing,  and  weight  to  your  opinion, 
and  will  keep  you  from  doing  anything  that  will  demean  or 
lower  your  manhood.     Whatever  your  occupation  be,  it    s 
worth  your  while  to  be  a  man  of  thought  and  of  intellectual 
resources.     There  is  no  calling  in  the  world  that  I  know  cf, 
that  is  not  made  better  by   brains.     True,  I  have  known 


l;li 


iil 


66 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


m 


men  who  contrived  to  make  money  till  they  were  able 
comfortably  to  retire  from  business ;  but  what  then''? 
They  had  had  no  mind  drilling,  and  were  incapable  of 
intellectual  enjoyment;  you  would  never  see  a  book  in 
their  hand;  hanging  about  their  doors,  or  *' pottering"  in 
their  little  garden,  they  dragged  out  one  weary  day  after 
another,  and  with  no  mental  resources  to  fall  back  upon, 
became,  if  not  tired  of  life,  at  least  prematurely  old.  Take 
a  little  advice,  then,  from  a  friend,  and  now  that  you  are 
men  put  away  foolish  and  idle  pleasures. 

Secondly,  you  must  also  put  away  many  childish  fears  and 
fancies.  To  become  a  man  is  the  eager  ambition  of  almost 
every  boy.  He  thinks  how  jolly  it  will  be  to  be  full-grown, 
to  be  one's  own  master,  to  be  independent  of  control  I  Which 
of  us  did  not,  in  our  childhood,  long  for  the  time  when  we 
should  have  done  with  school,  and  be  launched  into  the 
busy  scenes  of  active  and  responsible  manhood  ?  Such  a 
fascination  has  this  period  of  life  upon  the  young,  that  they 
are  fain  to  assume  the  bearing  and  don  the  manners  of 
grown-up  men,  before  they  have  backbone  to  support  them 
or  ballast  of  mind  to  steady  them.  The  apostle  does  not 
say,  "  Before  I  became  a  man  I  put  away  childish  things." 
There  is  no  satisfaction  in  seeing  a  child  play  the  part  of  a 
man  too  soon.  To  see  an  infant  of  six  studying  Greek,  or 
reading  "Calvin's  Institutes,"  would  give  me  as  little 
pleasure  as  to  see  a  babe  of  three  weeks  old  feeding  on  a 
mutton  chop.  There  is  no  fitness  or  congruity  in  such  a 
thing.  Milk  for  babes ;  strong  meat  for  men.  But  when 
the  age  of  ch^ildhood  is  past,  then  we  have  a  right  to  look 
for  the  self-denial,  the  courage,  and  the  wisdom  of  men.  A 
few  years  ago,  you  needed  a  wiser  head  and  a  steadier  hand 
than  your  own  to  guide  you ;  now  you  have,  in  a  sense,  the 
custody  of  yourselves.  You  are  put  in  charge  of  the  town 
of  Mansoul,  and  must  show  yourselves  equal  to  the  task. 


Putting  away  Childish  Things,  67 

We  pardon  a  child  for  being  timorous  and  undecided;  but 
in  a  man  we  look  for  firmness,  fortitude,  and  self-control. 
You  must  have  the  courage  of  your  convictions.  You  must 
never  be  afraid  of  being  laughed  at  for  doing  right.  You 
must  stand  fast  by  principle  at  all  hazards.  A  child  is,  to 
a  great  extent,  at  the  bidding  of  its  own  feelings,  and  appe- 
tites, and  desires;  but  you  have  reached  a  period  when 
these  must  all  be  held  with  a  tight  rein.  To  have  the  strong 
passions  of  a  man,  with  a  child's  feebleness  of  decision,  is 
something  deplorable.  If  you  are  to  enjoy  the  liberty  and 
the  independence  of  manhood,  you  must  also  evince  a  corre- 
sponding strength  of  will  and  force  of  character.  " 

Then  there  must  be  the  energetic  girding  of  one's  self  to 
the  practical  tasks  of  life.     The  little  child  lies  rolling  on  the 
carpet,  and,  perhaps,  falls  asleep  at  its  play ;  but  the  full-grown 
man  has  not  a  moment  for  idleness.      I  believe  that  a  great 
deal  of  the  poverty  of  London   is   due  to    sheer   laziness. 
There  are  plenty  of  fellows  lounging  about  and  deploring 
the  *^  bad  times,"  whose  non-success  must  honestly  be  put 
down  to  this,  that  they  will  not  exert  themselves.      An  old 
writer  tells  of  a  pitiful  beggar  who  presented  himself  to  him, 
and  with  sighs  and  tears  expressed  his  miserable  poverty, 
and  entreated  for  help.      *'He  told  us  at  the  same  time 
(added   he),   that  he   had  a  secret  inward  malady  which 
altogether  incapacitated  him  from  earning  a  living.      We 
all,  pitying  the  poor  man,  each  gave  him.  something,  and  he 
went  away.    One  of  our  company,  however,  sent  his  servant 
after  him,  with  orders  to  inquire  of  him  what  that  inward 
malady  might  be  which  unfitted  him  for  work.    The. servant 
overtook  the  man   and   pressed    the   question,    which   the 
beggar  was  unwilling  to  answer;  and  after  closely  examin- 
ing his  person,  and  finding  all  limbs  apparently  sound,  he 
said,  '  Why,   I  see  no  trace  of  any  infirmity  about  you.' 
'Alas  I  sir,'  the  other  now  replied,  '  the  disease  which  afflicts 


I'-r. 


68 


TalJbs  with  Young  Men, 


1 


|)il 


I* 

I: 


me  is  far  different  from  what  you  conceive ;  yet  it  is  an  evil 
which  hath  crept  over  my  whole  body,  and  passed  through^ 
my  very  veins  and  marrow ;  and  this  disease  is  by  most 
people  termed  idleness.' " 

I  have  known  not  a  few  fine  young  fellows  who  had  a 
sore  battle  to  fight  with  morning  drowsiness.  They  could 
not  get  up  betimes.  The. greatest  trial  they  knew  was  to 
jump  out  of  bed  in  the  morning.  Solomon  pictures  the  man 
to  the  life ;  so  it  is  a  very  old  failing,  but  it  is  one  that  must 
be  sternly  overcome. 

Then  there  ar?  many  youths  who  are  afflicted  with  a 
horror  of  manual  labour.  To  run  one's  own  errand,  to 
wheel  one's  own  barrow,  to  be  seen  in  the  street  with  a 
parcel  or  bundle,  is  disreputable.  I  have  often  been  amused 
to  see  the  surprise  on  the  face  of  some  one  I  have  met, 
because  I  was  carrying  a  parcel  as  heavy  as  my  strength 
would  admit  of.  Young  men  who  are  fastidious  in  these 
matters  have  not  great  strength  of  character.  One  of  the 
lessons  which  our  age,  and  which  England  in  particular,  has 
to  learn,  is  the  compatibility  of  manual  labour  with  real 
refinement  and  culture. 

Once  more,  the  principle  of  the  text  is  likewise  to  be 
applied  to  matters  of  religion.  In  nothing,  indeed,  more  than 
this  is  there  room  for  the  development  of  a  robust  and 
vigorous  manliness.  There  are,  of  course,  those  who  call  all 
spiritual  religion  childish.  If  one  manifests  any  concern 
about"  his  soul,  or  is  anxious  to  keep  in  the  right  way,  or 
dreads  the  thought  of  going  to  places  of  evil  association,  or 
is  conscientious  in  private  prayer  and  reading  of  the  Bible, 
he  is  set  down  as  a  ninny  or  a  weakling.  And,  forsooth, 
the  youth  who  sows  his  wild  oats,  who  dashes  into  all  sorts 
of  folly,  who  tosses  his  head  at  restraint,  and  can  utter  a  big 
round  oath,  is  a  manly  fellow,  and  to  be  looked  up  to  and 
esteemed  I 


9 


Putting  away  Childish  Things.         69 

Why,  I  would  not  insult  you  by  combating  such  a  fallacy. 
It  is  us  own  refutation.  If  (which  I  do  not  believe)  there  is 
here  to-night  one  who  is  fool  enough  to  be  carried  away  by 
this  notion,  I  have  no  hope  that  any  word  of  mine  will  do 
him  good.  But  I  do  say  this,  with  all  the  fearless  emphasis 
which  words  can  express,  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ 
has  immense  power  to  make  full-grown  men  ;  and  that  no 
such  grandly  complete  men,  adorned  with  all  that  constitutes 
true  manliness,  have  ever  been  known  as  those  whom  a  real 
and  living  Christianity  has  produced.  But  it  is  extremely 
important,  gentlemen,  that  we  should  present  our  religion 
in  this  aspect  to  our  fellow-men. 

« The  Christian,"  says  the  poet  Young,  "  is  the  highest 
style  of  man."  Let  this  be  seen  in  your  daily  life.  Show 
that  there  is  no  littleness  or  mamby-pambyism  about  genuine 
piety.  If  there  is  anything  that  can  add  a  cubit  to  one's 
stature,  and  give  to  a  man  breadth  and  solidarity,  it  is  the 

religion  of  Jesus. 

In  my  conscience,  I  believe  this  is  specially  true  of  the 
type  of  religion  with  which  most  of  you  are  identified.  I 
refer  to  a  sturdy  Protestantism.  You  have  been  educated 
to  think  for  yourselves.  You  have  been  trained  in  a  religion 
that  respects  the  human  reason,  and  that  disdains  every- 
thing approaching  to  priestcraft  and  superstition.  There  is 
a  religion  that  has  the  opposite  character,  and  seems  to  me 
to  turn  men  into  women,  or  rather  children.  Your  ritual- 
istic and  aesthetic  young  man,  who  goes  in  for  saints'  days 
and  processions,  who  must  needs  turn  to  the  east  in  prayer 
and  would  not  for  the  world  taste  butcher's  meat  on  Fridays, 
who  keeps  a  crucifix  in  his  bedroom  with  a  few  tiny  brass 
candlesticks,  and  whose  very  voice  acquires  an  effeminate 
tone,  why,  he  is  an  outrage  upon  the  name  of  Christianity, 
and  might  almost  confess,  "  When  I  became  a  Christian,  I 
put  away  all  manliness  of  character."     Out  upon  such  a 


ill^li 


' 


P' 


u 


70 


Ta/Jis  with   Young  Men, 


burlesque  of  religion !  Yet  this  silly  whim  is  fascinating 
and  emasculating  a  good  many  young  men  in  England,  and  - 
stealing  all  that  is  manly  out  of  them.  When  I  see  an 
excellent  young  fellow  become  insipid,  womanish,  childish, 
full  of  senseless  crotchets  and  ridiculous  affectations,  and 
apparently  full  of  the  notion  that  this  is  an  evidence  of  his 
religiousness,  well,  1  do  feel  the  need  of  all  the  grace  that 
is  in  me,  to  keep  in  good  temper.  Is  that  the  sort  of 
portrait  of  a  Christian  presented  in  the  Bible  ?  No.  Show 
me  the  open  forehead,  the  chivalrous  air,  the  manly  gait,  the 
vigorous  reason.  -The  true  disciple  of  Christ,  the  healthy 
Christian,  is  the  largest  built  of  any  living  man. 

Put  away,  then,  all  childish  things  in  religion ;  and  let 
the  grand  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  so  shape  and  mould  you, 
that  you  will  "  all  come,  in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the 
measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ ;  that  ye 
henceforth  be  no  more  children,  but  may  grow  up  into  Him 
in  all  things,  who  is  the  head,  even  Christ." 

There  is  a  singular  prophecy  in  the  Old  Book,  in  which 
the  Lord  says,  through  the  lips  of  Isaiah,  "  I  will  make  a 
man  more  precious  than  fine  gold ;  even  a  man  than  the 
golden  wedge  of  Ophir."     There  is  little  doubt,  I  suspect, 
that  the  purport  of  this  prediction  was,  that  in  the  country 
to  which  it  referred,  owing  to  the  desolation  of  war,  robust 
and  valiant  men  would  be  scarce  and  hard  to  find.     I  am 
not  sure  but  that,  in  another  sense,  the  passage  has  its  ap- 
plication still.     True  men  are  rare  and  precious  as  wedges 
of  gold.   A  popular  writer  says,  "You  can  find  in  the  woods 
good  trees  for  masts ;  but  it  is  difficult ;  yet  you  can  find  ten 
such  sticks  easier  than  you  can  find  one  genuine  man.     We 
must  make  men  now  as  they  make  masts  ;  they  saw  down 
a  dozen  trees,  splice  them  together,  and  bind  them   with 
iron  hoops.     And  so  with  men ;  if  you  want  a  good  man, 


Putting  away  Childish   Things,  71 

you  have  to  take  a  dozen  men,  and  splice  them  together." 
Ah  1  nothing  but  the  grace  of  God  can  restore  the  nobleness 
we  have  lost,  and  replace  the  crown  upon  our  head.  In 
Christ  you  have  the  perfect  man,  the  faultless  model ;  and 
only  by  coming  to  Him,  trusting  in  His^merits,  and  walking 
in  His  steps,  can  you  reach  the  true  dignity  of  your  being. 
God  help  you  to  be  noble  men,  kingly  men ;  and  to  prepare 
for  the  more  exalted  manhood  of  the  life  to  come  I 

For,  after  all,  this  is  the  point  of  the  Apostle  in  the  text. 
Here,  in  this  present  existence,  we  are  but  children  at  the 
best ;  and  it  is  those  who  make  the  grandest  strides  that 
are  most  ready  to  own  it.  Looking  back  from  yonder  future 
world,  we  shall  seem  (to  use  Newton's  illustration)  to  have 
been  like  little  children  playing  on  the  seabeach,  picking  up 
a  few  tiny  shells  and  pebbles,  whilst  the  vast  shore  lay 
undiscovered  before  us.  God  help  us  to  use  well  this  brief 
probationary  term  ;  and  though  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what 
we  shall  be,  yet  we  know  that,  when  our  season  of  school- 
ing and  tutelage  is  over,  we  shall  be  like  Him ;  for  we  shall 
see  Him  as  He  is.     Amen. 


MASTER  OVER   ONE'S  SELF. 


VI. 


**  Every  man  that  siriveth  for  the  mastery  is  temferate  in  all  thingu^ 
-1  Cor.  ix.  25. 


MASTER  OVER  ONES  SELF, 

IF  there  were  anything  in  the  Christian  religion  incon- 
sistent with  athletic  sports  and  manly  physical  exercise, 
I  cannot  think  that  the  Apostle  Paul  would  have  made 
such  frequent  allusion  to  the  games  of  Greece.  He 
knew  that  the  persons  to  whom  he  wrote  this  letter  were 
perfectly  familiar  with  them — were  fond  of  witnessing,  i{ 
not  of  taking  part  in  them  ;  and.  he  does  not  say  a  word  to 
dissuade  them  from  doing  so.  In  one  respect,  these  games 
exercised  a  healthful  moral  influence.  The  competitors 
knew  they  had  not  a  chance  of  success  unless  they  were 
rigidly  temperate ;  and  though  their  motive  was  far  from 
the  highest,  they  denied  themselves  the  pleasures  of  sense, 
and  submitted  to  a  severe  bodily  discipline,  that  they  might 
be  the  better  fitted  for  the  contest. 

In  Greece  there  were  four  different  series  of  athletic 
games  ;  to  one  of  which,  the  Isthmian,  the  Apostle  specially 
alludes.  They  bore  this  name  because  they  were  cele- 
brated on  a  neck  of  land  called  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth  ; 
and  as  they  were  held  only  every  fourth  year,  and  'occa- 
sioned much  stir  and  excitement,  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  they  were  now  in  actual  process  of  celebration,  and 
therefore  suggested  a  most  appropriate  figure.  They  con- 
sisted chiefly  in .  running,  leaping,  wrestling,  and  throwing 
the  quoit.  To  the  first  of  these  Paul  specially  refers  in  the 
previous  verse  :— "  Know  ye  not,  that  they  which  run  in  a 


J 

i 

il 


76 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


race  run  all,  but  one  receiveth  the  prize  :  so  run,  that  ye 
may  obtain."  But  what  he  states  in  our  text  was  equally 
applicable  to  all  of  them.  Indeed,  you  will  find  that  in  the 
Revised  Version  the  text  reads  thus  :— '*  Every  man  that 
striveth  in  the  games  is  temperate  in  all  things."  No 
matter  what  the  particular  game  was,  a  man  had  not  a 
chance  of  success  unless  he  carefully  abstained  from  all 
that  would  excite  or  stimulate,  and  ultimately  enervate  the 

body. 

But  these  competitors  were  perfectly  willing  to  submit 
to  this  self-denial.  They  refrained,  not  only  from  indul- 
gences that  were  vicious  in  their  character,  but  also  from 
many  things  which  were  innocent  and  lawful,  but  which 
tended  to  make  them  effeminate.  Old  Horace  makes 
reference  to  this,  in  lines  which  have  been  thus  para- 
phrased : — 


44 


The  youth  who  hopes  the  Isthmic  prize  to  gain, 
All  arts  must  try,  and  every  toil  sustain  ; 
Extremes  of  cold  and  heat  must  often  prove, 
And  shun  the  weakening  joys  of  wine  and  love/' 


It  was  wonderful  the  eagerness  with  which  the  young 
men  of  Corinth  strove  in  those  athletic  contests,  how  they 
threw  their  whole  energy  into  the  struggle,  each  one 
determined  to  be  foremost,  and  secure  the  prize  I  Yet, 
after  all,  what  was  the  prize  they  sought  for?  "A  cor- 
ruptible crown  I"  A  garland  or  wreath,  of  little  value  at 
the  best,  and  soon  to  wither  away.  Generally  made  of 
parsley,  or  of  the  leaves  of  olive,  or  pine,  or  laurel,  it  had 
but  a  fading  beauty,  and  could  not  be  preserved,  or  handed 
down  as  an  heirloom  to  succeeding  generations.* 

Now,  this  whole  subject  has  great  force,  as  applied  to  all 
Christians.  There  is  not  one  of  us  who  may  not  be  put  to 
shame  by  the  example  of  these  Grecian  athletes,  and  stirred 


•  u 


t> 


Master  over  Ones  Self. 


77 


to  such  an  energy  and  self-denial  as  are  but  rarely  seen. 
When  we  think  of  the  prize  that  is  set  before  us,  of  the 
unfading  diadem  promised  to  those  who  overcome,  of  the 
heavenly  glory  and  blessedness  that  await  the  faithful, 
ought  we  not  to  be  shamed  out  of  our  indolence  and 
lethargy,  and  count  no  toil  too  great,  no  discipline  too 
severe,  if  so  we  may  but  win  that  crown  ? 

But  the  subject  has  a  special  appropriateness  as  ad- 
dressed to  young  men.  It  was  the  sturdy,  vigorous  youth 
of  Corinth  that  came  forward  to  the  arena.  Young  men  of 
splendid  build,  strong  in  muscle,  and  elastic  in  limb  ;  I  see 
them  stepping  forth  on  the  glorious  stadium,  eager  to  begin 
the  struggle  ;  and  I  observe,  at  a  glance,  that  they  have 
been  under  training  and  discipline  to  prepare  them  for  the 
day.  To  no  licentious  indulgence  have  they  yielded  ;  with 
no  delicacies  have  they  pampered  the  body ;  wine  and 
strong  drink  they  have  put  far  from  them.  Even  in 
luxurious,  dissolute  Corinth,  which  was  the  Vanity  Fair  of 
Greece, — its  very  name  a  synonym  for  voluptuousness  and 
reckless  excess, — these  young  men  sternly  withstood  temp- 
tation, and  in  order  that  they  might  strive  for  the  mastery, 
"  were  temperate  in  all  things." 

I  venture  to-night,  my  brothers,  to  point  you  to  the 
Isthmian  stadium,  and  invite  you  to  learn  the  wholesome 
lesson  which  it  teaches.     It  is  a  lesson  oi  self-control. 

At  the  outset,  I  must  presume  that  many  of  you  are 
"  striving  for  the  mastery."  I  take  it  for  granted  that  you 
are  fired  with  a  pure  and  noble  ambition,  that  you  are 
determined  to  fulfil  the  great  end  of  life,  and  reach  forth 
after  an  eternal  crown.  It  is  to  this  principle  in  you  that 
I  make  my  appeal.  If  you  have  no  such  lofty  aim  ;  if  you 
are  content  to  drag  through  a  profitless  and  ignoble  life  ; 
if  you  are  just  to  swim  with  the  current,  yield  to  every 
desire,  gratify  every  passion,  and  get  through  the  world  as 


78 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


i! 


easily  as  you  can,  I  dismiss  you  with  sorrow  and  despair,^ 
for  "  it  were  better  for  you  that  you  had  never  been  born." 
But  to  many  of  you  the  mention  of  such  a  thing  is 
abhorrent.  You  have  aspirations  after  the  true,  the  noble, 
the  divine ;  with  "  Excelsior "  for  your  motto,  you  are 
resolved  to  press  onward  and  upward,  living  a  useful  life 
here,  and  preparing  for  a  glorious  eternity  hereafter ;  and 
I  have  come  here  to-night  to  remind  you,  that  if  you  *'  strive 
for  the  mastery,"  you  must  be  "  temperate  in  all  things." 

The  word   '^  temperance "   has  come  to  be  used  in  our 
day  with  a  special  and  restricted   meaning ;  but  I  decline 
to  limit  it  to  one  form  of  self-control;  it  is  a  large  and 
comprehensive  word,  and  may  be  said  to  consist  in  main- 
taining the  supremacy  of  reason  over  passion,  and  of  the 
soul  over  the  body.     This  is  plainly  the  meaning  that  Paul 
gives  to  it ;  for  he  explains  himself  in  the  twenty-seventh 
verse,  saying,  "I  keep  my  body  under,  and  bring  it  into 
subjection  " ;  or,  as  you  have  it  in  the  Revised  Version,  "  I 
buffet  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  bondage."     On  the  one 
side  we  have  an  animal  nature,  with  appetites,  desires,  and 
passions  ;  on  the  other  side  we  have  a  spiritual  nature, 
embracing  reason,  and  conscience,  and  a  sense  of  account- 
ability to  God ;  and  as  often  as   these    two  natures  come 
into  conflict,  we  are  to  see  to  it  that  the  latter  asserts  its 
power,  and   that  the  former  is   crushed  and  vanquished. 
We  are  so  constituted,  that  the  more  our  animal  nature 
curbed    and    restrained,    the   greater    becomes    the    soul's 
supremacy  over  it ;  but,  on   the  other  hand,  the  more  we 
indulge  it  and  yield  to  its  demands,  the  more  we  lose  our 
power   of  self-control,  until    at    length  the  will  is  utterly 
dethroned,  and  we  are  carried  headlong  down  the  path  to 
hopeless  disaster. 

We  often  hear  men  spoken  of  as  ''  the  victims  of  appc* 
tite,"  as  though  they  were  rather  to  be  pitied  than  blamed. 


\ 


Master  over  Ones  Self, 


79 


Their  ruin  is  looked  on  rather  in  the  light  of  a  misfortune 
more  than  of  a  fault.    According  to  such  a  way  of  speaking, 
it  is  not  the  man  himself  that  is  wrong,  but  some  bump  of 
his  skull ;  he  is  under  the  control  of  certain  propensities 
which  he  cannot  resist,  and  for  which,  therefore,  he  is  not 
responsible.     There  are  always  persons  who  will  snatch  at 
such  a  shallow  and  immoral  theory,  and  excuse  themselves 
from  the  charge  of  vice,  on  the  ground  that  it  is  a  disease. 
This  is  virtually  to  lay  the  blame  upon  God  ;  and  it  is  no 
new  thing  for  men  to  do  that.     Long  ago  St.  James  tore 
into  tatters  that  flimsy  excuse,  saying,  "  Let  no   man  say 
when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God ;  for  God  cannot 
be  tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth  He  any  man.     But 
every  man  is  tempted,  when  he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own 
lust,  and  enticed."     You  may  so  indulge  the  appetites  of 
the  body  that  you  become  their  slave.     God  forbid  that  I 
should  say  of  any  man,  however  low  he  has  fallen,  and 
to  whatever   form  of  lust  he  has  yielded,  that  his  case  is 
hopeless.      No  case  is  hopeless  whilst  there  is  a  merciful 
God   and   an  omnipotent   Saviour.      No  case   is   hopeless 
whilst   the  Bible  contains  this   word    concerning  the  marr 
who  trusts  in  Christ :  "  Yea,  he  shall  be  holden  up,  for  God 
is    able  to  make    him   stand";    and    again,    "He  that    is 
begotten    of  God  keepeth    himself,    and    that  wicked  one 

toucheth  him  not." 

But  with  you   there  must  be  tremendous  effort,  stern 

resolve.     As  the  poet  says  : — 

**  Habits  are  soon  acquired  :  but  when  we  strive 
To  strip  them  off,  'tis  being  flayed  alive." 

Through  grace  Divine  you  may  obtain  complete  mastery 
over  self:  and  there  is  no  form  of  conquest  so  honourable 
as  that.  "Hfe  that  ruleth  his  spirit,"  says  Solomon,  *'is 
better  than  he  that  taketh  a  city."  "Master  of  himself " 
is  one  of  the  noblest  titles  to  which  a  man  can  attain  :  and 


li 


(i 


IM 


»']      ! 


11  i 


80 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


what  the  New  Testament  calls  "  temperance  "  is  just  this 
self-mastery. 

You,  dear  fellows,  who  have  been  held  up,  you  who  have 
never  plunged  into  the  vortex  of  vice, — and  thank  God  there 
are  many  such  now  present, —  must  bear  ^vith   me  whilst  I 
speak  to  some  here  who  are  having  a  terrible  battle,  and 
are   almost  ready  to  give  up  in  despair.     I  have  known 
young  men  in  this  church  whose  lives  were  a  daily  agony, 
through  the  conflict  between  fierce  passion  on  the  one  side 
and  a  Bible-taught  conscience  on   the  other.     Some  years 
ago    a  vessel    was   sailing  down  from  Lake  Erie  to  Lake 
Ontario  in  America,  and   when  a  mile  or  two  above  the 
great  falls  of  Niagara  it  took   fire.     The  flames  soon   ob- 
tained   complete    mastery    of    the    ship,    and    crew   and 
passengers  having  been  taken  off  in  boats,  she  was  aban- 
doned to  her  fate.     It  is  said  to  have  been  a  scene  grand 
beyond  description.     It  was  night,  and  as  the  huge  vessel 
glided  down  the  river  she  seemed  a  floating  furnace,  the 
flames  shooting  high  into  the  heavens.     Watch  her  as  she 
approaches  the  rapids.     The  banks  are  lined  with  people, 
waiting  in  breathless  suspense  for  the  inevitable  moment. 
On  she  glides,  calmly  and  steadily,  towards  the  awful  verge. 
At   length,    with   frightful  plunge,   and  hissing  noise,  and 
coruscations  of  fire,  and    gleaming   spray,  she  makes  the 
bound,  and  instantly  disappears  amid  the  whelming  flood. 
Well,  there  are  hundreds  of  men  on  fire  with  evil  habit, 
floating  down  the  current  through  the  dark  night  of  tempta- 
tion   toward  the  eternal  plunge.     They  stretch  out   their 
pleading  hands  and  entreat  us  to  stop  them.     We  cannot 
stop  them.      God  only  can  arrest.      Oh  I  never  do  I  feel 
myself  so  impotent,  as  when  some  dear  penitent*  brother, 
wincing  under  the  pangs  of  remorse,  entreats  me  to  rescue 
him  from  his  headlong  career. 

You  may  have  seen  in  Paris  a  sculptured  representation 


Master  over  Ones  Self. 


81 


of  Bacchus,  the  god  of  drink  and  revelry.  He  is  riding  on 
a  panther  at  a  furious  bound.  How  suggestive  and  true  I 
A  man  begins  a  career  of  vice,  and  thinks  he  has  mounted 
a  well-broken  steed,  that  he  has  the  reins  in  hand,  and  can 
keep  it  in  control,  and  stop  it  w^hen  he  please  :  but  lo  ! 
when  he  sees  the  approaching  chasm,  and  would  fain  pull 
up,  he  finds  that  he  is  astride  on  a  savage  and  furious 
brute,  that  no  human  power  can  curb  or  tame.  But  oh  I 
do  not  forget  that  "  with  God  all  things  are  possible  " ;  and 
that  never  did  London  fireman,  directing  his  hose  upon  a 
burning  house,  more  effectually  extinguish  the  flame,  than 
can  God,  flooding  the  soul  with  grace,  quench  and  destroy 
every  fire  of  lust  or  passion  that  cdn  r-age  in  a  human 
breast. 

But  happy  those  of  you  whom  as  yet  the  tempter  has 
not  conquered.  All  men  may  attain,  but  young  men  have 
by  far  the  greatest  likelihood  of  attaining,  the  mastery  over 
themselves. 

And  it  is  to  you  specially  that  our  text  speaks  to-night. 
I  do  :;ot  know  any  fallacy  more  mischievous  than  the  notion 
that  what  is  called  "a  free  and  easy  life"  is  a  happy  one. 
Satan  tempts  you  into  the  belief  that  in  breaking  off"  from 
all  restraint,  and  giving  free  scope  to  every  appetite  and 
desire,  you  are  steering  a  glad  and  manly  course.  Never 
was  there  a  greater  delusion.  Restraint  is  a  condition  of 
true  blessedness.  If  you  would  know  the  sweetness  of 
real  liberty,  you  must  accept  the  yoke  of  principle  and  law. 
"Take  my  yoke  upon  you,"  says  Christ,  and  what  then? 
"Ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls."  A  man  left  to 
himself)  or  who  will  not  submit  to  restraint,  becomes  a 
despicable  being. 

Ruskin,  in  one  of  his  essays,  says,  "  A  butterfly  is  much 
more  free  than  a  bee;  but  you  honour  the  bee  more, 
because  it  is  subject  to  certain  laws,  which  fit  it  for  orderly 


•J'lL^WjuftiMiaiHiW-"-  ■  • 


82 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


function  in  bee  society.  And,  throughout  the  world,  of  the^ 
two  abstract  things,  liberty  and  restraint,  restraint  is  alway? 
the  more  honourable.  Restraint  characterises  the  highef 
creature;  and  from  the  ministering  of  an  archangel  to 
the  labour  of  an  insect,  from  the  poising  of  a  planet  to  the 
gravitation  of  a  grain  of  dust,  the  power  and  glory  of  all 
creatures,  and  of  all  matter,  consists  in  their  obedience,  not 
in  their  freedom." 

At  the  very  portals  of  the  Christian  life,  Jesus  meets  you 
with  an  open  hand  and  a  loving  welcome ;  but  He  says  to 
you  very  plainly,  *"  If  any  man  will  come  after  Me,  let  him 
deny  himself"  Thus  self-denial  is  one  of  the  first  con- 
ditions of  being  a  disciple  of  Christ.  You  must  put  a  check 
upon  your  inclinations,  and  govern  yourselves,  not  by  what 
you  like  to  do,  but  by  what  you  ought  to  do.  And  this 
applies  to  every  phase  and  form  of  life.  "  Temperate  in 
all  things."  Temperate  in  sleep,  in  food,  in  drink,  in 
business,  in  pastime,  in  everything. 

Men  forget  that  this  is  the  true  secret  even  of  physical 
enjoyment,  not  to  say  of  a  happy  and  contented  mind.  I 
repudiate  and  repel  with  scorn  the  imputation  that,  when 
a  man  is  governed  by  principle  and  the  fear  of  God,  he  is 
shut  up,  straitened  in  his  joys.  Rather  is  he  enfranchised, 
enlarged.  Piety  does  not  close  up  the  avenues  of  enjoy- 
ment. True  virtue  makes  every  capacity  of  joy  more 
sensitive.  There  is  no  man  whose  range  of  delight  is  so 
broad  and  wide  as  the  man  who  is  living  under  the  power 
of  the  grace  of  God.  Of  all  mad  delusions,  there  is  none 
greater  than  the  notion,  that  the  most  exquisite  pleasures 
can  be  reaped  only  by  a  reprobate  course,  that  you  must 
"  sow  your  wild  oats "  to  have  a  harvest  of  enjoyment. 
Ah !  it  is  a  very  different  harvest  that  follows  such  a 
sowing.  For  hear  what  the  Lord  saith  through  His 
prophet,  "Because   thou    hast    forgotten   the   God  of  thy 


T 


I 


Master  over  Ones  Self, 


83 


salvation,  and   hast   not   been  mindful  of  the  rock  of  thy 
strength,  therefore  shalt   thou  plant  pleasant  plants,  and 
Shalt  set  it  with  strange  (or  rare)  slips ;  in  the  day  shalt 
thou   make  thy  plants  to  grow,  and  in  the  morning  shalt 
thou  make  thy  seed  to  flourish  ;  but  the  harvest  shall  be  a 
heap  in  the  day  of  grief  and  of  desperate  sorrow."     I  have 
seen  wild  oats  sown  ;  ay,  and  I  have  marked  the  harvest. 
I  have  seen  the  fatal  brand  of  lust  on  the  bloated  coun- 
tenance.     I   have  seen  the   blear   of   drunkenness  in    the 
reddened  eye.     I  have  seen   the  restless  twitching  of  the 
shattered   nerves.      I   have   seen  the  stiffened  gait  of  the 
ruined    debauchee.       I    have   seen    the   wasted    form,    the 
sunken  cheeks,  the  hectic  flush.     I  have  heard  the  hollow 
cough,  the  sigh  of  remorse,  the  scream  of  despair ;  and  I 
have   said,    "This  is   the    harvest   that  comes   of  such   a 
sowing!"     Yes,   there   are    dark,   dishonoured   graves   m 
Potter's-fields,  where  lie  the  buried  hopes  of  fathers,  the 
joys  of  mothers'  hearts,  the  pride  of  sisters  fair ;  and  the 
rank,  foul  weeds  that  sprout  and  flourish  over  them,  feedmg 
on  the  corruption  of  the   untimely  dead,  are  but  the  true 
symbol  of  what  follows  from  what  is  too  frivolously  called 
"  sowing  wild  oats  "  in  youth.     "  Be  not  deceived ;  God  is  not 
mocked  ;  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap.'' 
My  solicitude  to-night  is  two-fold.     First,  that  those  of 
you  who  have  hitherto  resisted  the  flesh  may  be  held  up 
and  kept  pure,  amid  the  thousand  contaminations  of  this 
great  city ;  and,  secondly,  that  some  brother  here  who  has 
gone  off  the  track  may  have  hope   enkindled   within   his 
breast,  and  through  mercy  infinite  be  brought  to  the  paths 
of  virtue.     If  there  be  in  this  house  now  a  man  who  has 
fallen,  whom  temptation  has    overmastered,    who  hardly 
ventures  to  hope  that  his  salvation  is  possible,  and  who  . 
feels  as  though  he  were  beyond  the  pale  of  Christian  sym- 
pathy, I  give  that  man  my  right  hand,  and  call  him  brother. 


84 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


You  may  be  a  stranger.  You  may  be  a  foreigner.  You 
may  be  a  prodigal.  You  may  be  an  outcast.  I  care  not; 
God  has  sent  you  here  to-night,  and  I  give  you  a  message 
in  His  name.  Cheer  up.  There  is  mercy  for  you.  I 
bespeak  in  your  behalf  the  prayers  of  all  God's  people 
here.  I  surround  you  with  the  warm  sympathies  of 
Christian  hearts. 

By  Christ's  authority  I  bid  this  congregation  be  on  the 
outlook  for  every  friendless  one,  and  give  him  to-night  a 
kind  word,  and  such  a  hearty,  honest  hand-shaking  as  he 
will  not  soon  forget.  When  down  at  the  sea-coast  the 
other  day,  there  was  a  sight  that  always  made  me  think 
of  you.  I  marked  one,  and  another,  and  another  little 
steam-vessel  prowling  about  in  the  offing,  ever  on  the 
outlook  to  hail  some  wanderer  of  the  deep,  some  ship 
seeking  its  way  home,  that  they  might  tug  it  safely  up 
channel,  and  bring  it  to  the  quiet  haven ;  and  I  saw  there 
a  picture  of  what  the  members  of  such  a  church  as  this 
should  be,  ever  on  the  watch  for  some  soul  that  needs 
guidance  and  comfort,  ever  ready  with  the  loving  smile 
and  the  helping  hand  for  any  lonely  and  friendless 
brother  I 

There  are  thousands  in  this  neighbourhood  who  just 
want  a  kind  word  of  invitation  and  greeting.  You  say  of 
such  a  young  man,  he  lives  within  a  stone's  throw  of  bur 
church.  I  tell  you  there  are  young  men  in  London  who 
live  a  hundred  miles  from  church.  Vast  deserts  of  in- 
difference lie  between  them  and  the  house  of  God.  They 
want  to  be  invited  and  welcomed.  They  want  the  hand  of 
Christian  kindness  to  be  laid  upon  their  shoulde^r.  They 
want  to  be  beckoned  in ;  and  to  find,  when  they  come,  a 
living,  hearty  service.  Every  face  an  illumination.  Every 
look  a  welcome.  Every  prayer  a  rapture.  Every  word  a 
benediction.     Every  hymn  an  inspiration. 


Master  over  Ones  Self, 


85 


Come,  let  us  all  help  one  another,  and  try  to  gather  in 
some  who  have  gone  out  of  the  way.  O  my  brothers,  how 
many  of  you  are  "  striving  for  the  mastery  "  ?  How  many 
of  you  have  set  your  hearts  upon  the  amaranthine  and 
eternal  crown  ?  You  must  '^  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith," 
and  you  must  look  to  God  for  all  the  strength  that  is  to 
carry  you  through.  Remember,  St.  Peter  does  not  say, 
'*  Add  to  your  temperance,  faith,"  but  "  add  to  your  faith, 
temperance."  Temperance  in  all  things  is  a  noble  endow- 
ment ;  but  even  temperance  will  not  take  the  place  of  faith, 
faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  as  your  personal  Saviour.  There 
are  men  sitting  before  me,  and  in  these  galleries,  who  for 
ten  years  have  tried  to  conquer  sin,  and  rise  to  the  level  of 
a  Christian  life ;  but  they  cannot.  They  have  done  every- 
thing but  trust  in  Christ.  They  have  begun  at  the  wrong 
end,  and  will  never  succeed  as  they  are  doing.  I  summon 
you  to-night  to  a  better  way.  I  beckon  you  to  a  Saviour, 
who,  thro'Js:h  six  thousand  years,  has  not  once  failed  to 
save  the  soul  that  trusted  Him.  To  His  omnipotent  grace 
I  commend  you  all.     Amen. 


^^ And  he  went  out^  not  knowing  whither  he  went,** — Heb.  xi.  8. 


V 


■'■ 


VIL 


SETTING  OUT  IN  LIFE, 

I  CAN  hardly  say  I  have  a  text  this  evening,  yet  these 
words  are  so  true  a  description  of  the  departure  from 
his  native  place,  and  the  setting  out  in  life,  of  many  a  young 
man  who  comes  to  London,  that  I  cannot  do  better  than 
make  them  my  starting-point,  in  offering  some  counsels, 
specially  to  those  of  you — and  there  are  always  many  such 
here — who  have  recently  left  a  quiet  country  home,  to  push 
your  way  in  this  great  metropolis. 

It  is  often  curious  to  notice  how  purely  accidental, 
apparently,  have  been  the  circumstances  that  led  you  to 
take  that  step.  The  casual  visit  of  a  friend,  some  remark 
dropped  in  a  letter,  a  good  word  spoken  on  your  behalf  by 
some  old  acquaintance;  any  of  these,  or,  perhaps,  some- 
thing different  from  all,  has  been  the  occasion  of  your 
deciding  to  quit  the  place  of  your  birth,  and  strike  out 
upon  the  sea  of  life. 

And  yet,  I  hope  you  do  not  think  it  has  been  all  chance 
work.  It  is  a  great  help  and  comfort  to  a  man,  a't  least  to 
a  Christian  man,  to  feel  that  every  step  of  his  career  is 
ordered  by  the  Lord;  and  you  may  be  none  the  less 
Divinely  guided,  that  the  opening  presented  to  you  has 
come  upon  you  by  surprise.  I  should  always  wish  to  say 
with  the  Psalmist,  "He  shall  choose  our  inheritance  for 
us."  It  is  a  grand  thing  to  know  that,  whatever  sort  of  a 
vessel  it  be  that  we  sail  in,  and  however  its  course  may 


so 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


turn,  God  keeps  firm  hold  of  the  helm ;  this  guarantees  we^ 
shall  get  safely  into  port.     I  have  never  any  doubt  of  the 
real  success  and  happiness  of  the  man  who  has  made  this 
his  constant  prayer,  "  My  Father,  be  Thou  the  guide  of  my 

youth." 

Well,  I  feel  sure  you  will  take  in  good  part  a  few  practical 
advices  I  have  to  offer  you  to-night.  I  have  had  many 
years'  opportunity  of  watching  the  course  of  young  men 
in  this  city ;  and  I  must  be  dull  indeed  if  I  have  not  learnt 
something  that  may  be  useful  to  you.  I  have  noticed  how 
some  young  men  have  got  on,  have  risen  from  step  to  step, 
and  attained  to  positions  of  comfort  and  honour;  and  how 
others,  quite  as  favourably  situated,  have  seemed  to  bungle 
and  fail,  and  ultimately  have  disappeared  in  disgrace  and 
infamy. 

It  is  to  me  a  terribly  painful  thought,  that  I  may  now  be 
looking  in  the  face  some  one  who  shall  run  just  such  a 
career  of  foolishness  and  remorse  as  I  have  seen  run  here 
already  by  one  and  another  whose  life's  morning  was  full 
of  promise  and  hope.  Ah  me  I  what  misery,  what  agony 
untold,  has  been  the  price  paid  for  a  brief  season  of  imagined 
pleasure  I  Well  may  I  say  "  imagined,"  for  they  who  have 
drunk  most  heavily  of  it  have  been  the  readiest  to  confess 
that  it  was  hollow  and  unreal.  Not  for  one  moment  do  I 
desire  to  arrest  the  joyousncss  of  your  life;  rather  do  I 
want  to  put  you  on  the  path  of  a  sure  and  solid  happiness. 
May  the  hand  of  Christ  be  grasped  by  every  young  man 
here  to-night  I 

First  of  all,  I  will  say  very  warmly.  Don't  forget  the  dear 
old  home  you  have  left.  It  may  be  a  humble  dwelling ;  its 
floors  may  be  uncarpeted,  and  its  roof  of  thatch ;  but,  for 
all  that,  it  may  have  associations  so  tender  and  sweet,  as  to 
make  it  more  beautiful  in  your  eyes  than  any  palace.  Ah  ! 
you  may  make  many  friends  in  life,  but  you  will  never  find 


Setting  Out  in  Life. 


91 


one  to  take  the  place  of  father  or  mother.     While  yet  a  boy 
is  but  sprouting  into  manhood,  he  is  apt  to  be  just  a  little 
impatient  of  restraint,  and  to  toss  his  head  like  a  young 
horse  disdainfully,  when  good  advice  is  given  him ;  and  to 
think  that  it  is  about  time  he  knew  his  own  business,  and 
were  independent  of  parental  control ;  but  when  he  goes 
out  into  life,  he  will  never  find  influences  so  wholesome  as 
those  that  gathered  round  him  under  his  father's  roof     No 
minister,  no  newspaper,  no  book,  can  ever  get  so  near  to 
the  sanctuary  of  your  heart  as  she  who  bore  you.     Oh,  do 
not  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  to  break  away  from  home  ties 
and  filial  obligations.     Cherish  in  the. most  hallowed  shrine 
of  your  heart  every  remembrance  of  the  spot  where  your 
childhood  was  spent.    If  your  parents— one  or  both  of  them 
— are  spared,  be  it  to  you  one  of  the  sweetest  moments  of 
the  day,  when  on  your  bended  knees  you  commend  them 
to  God;    and   may  the   love  you   bear  them   be    a   tether 
binding  you  to  love  and  to  duty. 

One  of  the  purest  impulses  which  a  young  man  can  have 
in  life,  is  the  desire  to  give  his  parents  reason  to  be  proud 
of  him ;  and  many  a  man  has  felt,  when  they  have  been 
laid  in  the  grave,  that  a  powerful  stimulus  to  probity  and 
success  has  been  taken  away.     There  is  not  a  worse  feature 
can  mark  a  youth,  than  that  he  can  easily  forget  the  home 
of  his  father  and  mother;  indeed,  there  is  hardly  an  evil, 
thing  I  could  not  believe  of  a  fellow  so  heartless;  and,  be 
you  sure  of  this,  that  any  one  who  would   dare  \o   try  to 
shame  you  out  of  a  father's  influence  and  a  mother's  fear 
any  one  who  would  endeavour  to  break  you  off  from  home 
attachments,  is  your  direst  enemy,  and  is  to  be  loathed  and 
shunned  as  death.     Do  not  neglect  to  make  good  use  of  the 
penny  post;  perhaps  there  is  not  a  better  index  of  character 
than  the  sort  of  letters  which  a  young  man  writes  to  the 
dear  ones  he  has  left  at  home.     When  Dr.  Chalmers  was  a 


i^ 


92  Talks  with  Young  Men. 

young  student  at  St.  Andrew's,  he  never  forgot  to  send  his  ^ 
parents  a  weekly  budget;  but  his  handwriting  was  so 
obscure,  that  his  father  used  to  lay  the  letters  as  they  came 
upon  the  mantelpiece,  and  say,  "Thomas  will  read  them 
all  to  us  himself  when  he  comes  home  I "  (Of  course,  1 
don't  want  you  to  be  like  Chalmers  in  that  respect :  for  a 
good,  clear,  round  handwriting  is  a  great  advantage  to  any 

""^Secondly  if  you  have  found  a  situation,  >/7?/  its  duties 
with  the  resolve  to  Monn  your  part  faithfully  to  your  employers. 
Some  young  men-I  do  not  for  one  moment  hint  that  any 
of  you    belong   to   the   number-have    the    most   peculiar 
notions    upon   this   subject.      Having  found   a  berth    that 
suits  them,  they  immediately  try  to  work  out  this  problem, 
What  is  the  minimum  of  service  I  can  render,  with  the 
maximum  of  pay  ?     1  believe  I  know  men,  who,  were  they 
to  see  a  lad  run  into  a  shop,  steal  an  article,  and  decamp 
with  it,  would    instantly  join   in  the  chase,  and  cry  out, 
^^Stop  thief  I"  whilst  they  have  not  a  qualm  of  conscience 
about  wasting  their  master's  time,  or  doing  a  job   more 
carelessly  when  his  eye  is  not  upon  them. 

Gentlemen,  always  make  a  point  of  erring  on  the  other 
side  of  doing  more,  and  not  less,  than  is  expected  of  you. 
Let 'the  heads  of  the  firm   be  ever  so  unreasonable  and 
mean,  you  cannot,  for  your  own  sakes,  afford  to  be  other 
than   honourable -and    magnanimous.      No    harshness   or 
shabbiness  on  their  side  can  justify  you  in  being  less  than 
thoroughly  conscientious.      If  you  attempt  retaliation,  or 
sp-ak  of  -  paying  them  back  in  their  own  coin,"  you  assume 
a  function  which  God  retains  in  His  own  hand.     "Ven- 
geance is  mine ;  1  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord." 

Be  quite  as  careful  of  your  employer's  time  and  interests 
as  though  they  were  your  own.  Do  not  drop  in  of  a  morn- 
ing ten  minutes  after  your  time.     If  you  are  punctual  to 


Setting  Out  in  Life, 


93 


five  seconds,  let  it  be  five  seconds  before,  instead  of  five 
seconds  after.  Do  not  deem  anything  too  insignificant  to 
do  thoroughly  well.  "Whatsoever  thine  hand  findeth  to 
do,  do  it  with  thy  might."  From  the  most  important  com- 
mercial transaction,  down  to  the  tying  up  of  a  parcel,  do 
everything  the  right  way.  It  gives  least  trouble  in  the  end. 
Never  wink  at  anything  dishonourable  in  your  establish- 
ment. If  the  men  who  are  over  you  expect  you  to  do  so, 
have  the  courage  to  say,  "  I  shall  rather  lose  my  place." 
Better  lose  your  place  than  lose  your  soul.  You  may  have 
goods  to  sell,  but  you  have  a  God  to  face. 

But  very,  very  rarely,  does  it  happen  that  a  house  of 
business  can  afford  to  part  with  a  young  man  whom  they 
find  true  as  steel  to  his  Christian  principles.  They  know 
better.  He  is  too  valuable  to  lose.  They  may  flush  up  at 
first,  and  be  angry  that  he  should  dare  to  judge  for  himself; 
but  when  they  have  had  time  to  cool  they  will  find  that 
rather  than  lose  such  a  man,  they  would  part  with  half-a- 
dozen  who  have  got  neither  conscience  nor  principles  to 
trouble  them.  I  daresay  some  of  you,  as  to-day  you  look 
into  the  future,  see  a  position  of  comfort  to  be  still  only  in 
the  far  distance;  but  if  you  stick  to  your  colours,  if  you 
stand  to  what  is  right,  and  true,  and  noble,  and  diligently 
perform  the  tasks  that  fall  to  you,  I  believe  I  am  justified  in 
saying  that  you  are  all  but  certain  to  meet,  even  in  this 
world,  with  a  rich  reward.  "  Seest  thou  a  man  diligent  in 
business  ?  he  shall  stand  before  kings." 

Thirdly,  it  will  not  be  amiss  that  I  should  urge  upon  you 
the  cultivation  of  a  genuine  manliness.  When  a  youth  allows 
personal  vanity  to  get  the  better  of  him,  it  is  remarkable 
how  silly  he  becomes,  without  even  suspecting  it.  You 
can  easily  see,  by  a  glance  of  the  eye,  that  the  great  ques- 
tion of  the  day  with  him  is  the  colour  of  his  gloves,  or  the 
fit  of  his  boots,  or  some  other  point  of  dress,  and  the  poor 


ass 


¥ 


94  Talh  with   Yotmg  Men. 

lad  has  not  a  notion  how  contemptible  he  looks,  as  he 
brandishes  his  cane  or  adjusts  his  eye-glass,  or  twirls  the 
points  of  his  moustache  with  exquisite  nonchalance.  It  is 
curious  how  many  nice  lads  begin,  somewhere  between 
sixteen  and  twenty,  to  adopt  a  new  character  altogether, 
and  assume  the  dandy.  A  little  earlier  in  life,  and  a  little 
later,  they  have  a  thorough  contempt  for  that  sort  of  thing, 
but  it  almost  seems  as  though  the  growth  of  hair  on  the 
under  part  of  the  head   has  the  effect  of  weakening  the 

brain ! 

A  young  man  should  feel  that  God  has  sent  him  forth 
into  the  world  with  a  higher  end  than  to  be  a  well-dressed 
doll,  with  faultless  hair  and  snow-white  hands ;  more  fitted 
to  stand  among  the  figures  in  Madame  Tussaud's  Exhibition, 
than  to  do  some  solid  and  serious  work  in  this  practical 
world.     The  late  Charles  Kingsley,  whom  all  will  acknow- 
ledge to  have  been  a  fine  type  of  a  man,  and  of  an  English- 
man, divided  the  human  race  into  three  parts  :— i,  honest 
men,  who   mean  to  do  right,  and   do  it;  2,  knaves,  who 
mean  to  do  wrong,  and  do  it ;  and  3,  fools,  who  mean  to  do 
whichever  of  the  two  is  the  pleasanter.     It  was  possibly 
with    this   classification   in   his   eye,    that    that    sour,   stern 
genius,  Thomas  Carlyle,  described  the  people  of  England 
as  so  many  million  souls,  ''  mostly  fools."     Now,  brothers, 
you^are  stepping  forth  upon  the  arena  of  life,  and,  with  all 
the  earnestness  of  my  soul  I  beseech  you  to  form  the  resolve 
that  you  will  live  nobly.     Let  conscience  assert  her  autho- 
rity, and  listen  to  her  when  she  speaks.     Vow  that,  where 
truth  and  virtue  are  concerned,  you  will   make   no  com- 
promise.    Be  scrupulously  careful  about  your  word.     Be 
slow  to  make  a  promise,  but  when  you  have  made  it,  stand 
to  it  at  all  costs.     Let  all  your  business  affairs  be  ruled  by 
an  inflexible  integrity ;  see  to  it  that  you  are  respected,  as 
men  of  the  strictest  rectitude.     Be  unyielding  as  iron  when 


Setting  Out  in  Life, 


95 


temptation  to  vice  assails  you.  Turn  with  loathing  from 
those  who  would  speak  lightly  of  sin,  and  who  talk  of  acts 
of  licentiousness  and  debauchery  a^  the  ^'  indiscretions  of 
youth."  Remember,  that  in  thunderous  tones  the  God  of 
heaven  has  pronounced  His  curse  upon  the  drunkard,  and 
the  fornicator,  and  the  unclean ;  and  has  declared  that  such 
shall  have  their  portion  in  the  lake  of  fire.  You  have 
passions.  It  is  not  a  sin  to  have  them,  but  it  is  a  sm  to 
tamper  with  them.  Keep  the  body  under,  and  bnng  it 
into  subjection.  Never  for  a  moment  be  persuaded  that, 
on  any  conceivable  plea,  these  sins  of  the  flesh  can  be 
excused,  or  their  guilt  modified. 

"  In  all  the  range  of  accepted   British  maxims,"  writes 
that  true  friend  of  young  men  and  boys,  Thomas  Hughes, 
^*  there  is  none,  take  it  all  in 'all,  more  thoroughly  abomin- 
able than  this  one,  as  to  a  young  man  '  sowing  his  wild  oats.' 
Look  at  it  on  what  side  you  will,  and  I  will  defy  you  to 
make  anything  but  a  devil's  maxim  of  it.     What  a  man,  be 
he  young,  or  old,  or  middle-aged,  sows,  that,  and  nothing 
else    shall  he  reap.     The  one  only  thing  to  do  with  such 
<  wild  oats,'  is  to  put  them  carefully  into  the  hottest  part  of 
the  fire,  and  get'  them  burnt  to  dust,  every  seed  of  them 
If  you  sow  them,  no  matter  in  what  ground,  up  they  will 
come,  with  long,  tough  roots,  and  luxuriant  stalks  and  leaves, 
as  sure  as  there  is  a  sun  in  heavan,  a  crop  which  it  turns 
one's  heart  cold  to  think  of." 

Dear  young  men,  some  of  you  may  not  need  the  counsels 
I  am  now  giving,  but  others  of  you  do ;  and  I  entreat  you, 
as  you  value  your  self-respect,  as  you  consult  your  future 
happiness,  as  you  weigh  your  eternal  destiny,  beware  of  the 
first  indulgence.  It  is  tenfold  easier  to  resist  the  first  attack 
of  the  tempter,  than,  having  yielded,  to  resist  the  second.  One 
visit  to  a  place  of  immoral  amusement;  one  act  of  impurity ; 
one  throw  at  a  gaming-table ;  one  bet  on  a  race,^  may  have 


I 


:|i 


•l|i 


!l 


96 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


Setting  Out  in  Life, 


97 


an  effect  on  you  so  damning,  that  all  your  principles  vanish 
and  all  your  strength  of  will  is  gone  for  ever.  If  you  yield, 
your  guilt  will  be  the  greater  that  you  have  listened  to  me 
to-night.  God  is  addressing  you  through  the  preacher.  He 
is  sounding  words  of  warning  in  your  ear,  and  saying, 
*'  Enter  not  into  the  path  of  the  wicked,  and  go  not  in  the 
way  of  evil  men.  Avoid  it,  pass  not  by  it,  turn  from  it,  and 
pass  away." 

The  fourth  piece  of  brotherly  counsel  I  am  going  to  give 
you  this  evening  may  seem  to  you  somewhat  peculiar  as 
coming  from  the  pulpit ;  but  I  give  it  deliberately.     I  am 
speaking  to-night  to  those  of  you  who  have  recently  exchanged 
the  country  for  the  town ;  and  in  some  respects  I  congratu- 
late you  on  having  your  steps  directed  to  this  metropolis. 
London  may  have  many  snares  for  young  men,  but  it  has 
splendid  advantages.     Perhaps  there  is  no  city  in  the  world 
to  compare  with  it,  for  the  opportunities  it  affords  to  young 
men,  in  their  spare  hours,  of  mental  self-improvement.     1 
take  it,  that  though  you  have  got  a  situation,  you  don't  mean 
to  make  yourself  a  mere  piece  of  machinery;  you  are  to 
grow.     You  want  to  develop,  not  only  physically,  but  intel- 
lectually and  esthetically.     Well,  I  need  not  tell  you  that 
there  are  libraries,  and  museums,  and  lectures,  and  literary 
societies  of  every  description ;  which  give  you  such  oppor- 
tunities of  self-culture  as  you  nowhere  else,  at  least  in  this 
country,  can  enjoy      But  it  is  not  exactly  such  studies  to 
which  I  am  now  pointing.     I  have  so  frequently  urged  upon 
you  sound  and  wholesome  reading,  and  the  cultivation  ot 
your  intellectual  powers,  that  I  shall  not  repeat  that  advice 
to-night.     But  I  do  think,  the  study  of  art  is  neglected  by 
thousands  of  young  men,  as  it  ought  not  to  be.    Why  should 
not  a  clerk  in  a  mercantile  house,  why  should  not  a  shopman 
when  his  day's  work  is  over,  why  should  not  a  mechanic  or 
an  artizan  be  as  able  to  appreciate  a  high-class  painting,  or 


piece  of  sculpture,  or  splendid  musical  performance,  as  any 
young  man  belonging  lo  what  is  called  the  ''upper  ten  thou- 
sand "  ?  When  these  studies  are  kept  in  their  own  place, 
'  they  have  a  refining  and  elevating  influence ;  and  if  such 
tastes  were  cultivated  more,  and  our  young  men  were  to  find 
more  enjoyment  in  contemplating  the  works  of  the  great 
masters,  both  ancient  and  modern,  we  should  find  fewer 
loitering  idly  about  the  streets,  or  lingering  by  the  ale-house 
doors.  An  occasional  hour  spent  in  the  Royal  Academy 
would  be  tenfold  more  profitable  than  most  of  the  diver- 
sions with  which  your  evenings  are  occupied. 

A  man  may  follow  a  menial  calling,  and  yet  have  a 
refined  and  cultivated  nature.  Let  me  recommend  to  every 
one  of  you  the  study,  not  only  of  the  works  of  man,  but  of 
the  works  of  God.     Keble  beautifully  says,— 

•*  Two  worlds  are  ours  ;  'tis  only  sin 
Forbids  us  to  descry 
The  mystic  heaven  and  earth  within. 
Plain  as  the  sea  and  sky. 

«•  Thou  who  hast  given  me  eyes  to  see 
And  love  this  sight  so  fair, 
Give  me  a  heart  to  find  out  Thee, 
And  read  Thee  everywhere." 

My  fifth  and  last  message  to  you  this  evening  exceeds  in 
importance  all  the  rest  together ;  and  I  do  not  say  it  because 
I  am  in  the  pulpit ;  I  do  not  say  it  because  I  am  a  Christian 
minister ;  I  do  not  say  it  because  we  are  met  within  the 
walls  of  a  place  of  worship ;  but  I  say  it,  brothers,  because 
it  is  true,  and  because  it  is  of  the  utmost  consequence  that 
you  should  lay  it  to  heart;  that  he  only  starts  life  well 
.who  takes  God  with  him,  and  is  dominated  by  a  deep  and 
genuine  religion.  The  Apostle  puts  it,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
on  the  lowest  ground,  when  he  says  that  "Godliness  is 
profitable  unto  all  things ;  having  promise  of  the  life  that 


98 


Talks  with    Young  Men. 


now  IS,  and  of  that  which  is  to  come;"  but  even  this 
argument  has  force.  It  is  profitable  to  be  a  Christian. 
Genuine  religion  "  pays,"  which  is  more  than  sin  ever  does. 
All  things  being  equal,  you  are  incomparably  more  likely 
to  live  a  successful,  useful,  respected,  and  happy  life,  if  you 
are  a  Christian,  than  if  you  are  not.  This  is  not  a  mere 
assertion.  If  you  doubt  it,  I  am  prepared  to  prove  what  I 
say.  Of  course,  I  do  not  deny  that  there  are  exceptions  ; 
but  there  is  an  old  saying  that  "  exceptions  prove  the  rule." 
You  do  not  need  to  go  back  even  to  a  past  generation  ;  you 
do  not  need  to  go  out  of  this  city  to  find  my  statement 
confirmed.  If  you  mention  the  names  of  our  most  brilliant 
statesmen  of  to-day,  are  they  not  devout  Christians?  If 
you  point  to  the  men  who  are  at  the  head  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession, and  have  recently  sat  upon  the  woolsack,  are  they 
not  humble  followers  of  Jesus  ?  If  you  single  out  a  few 
of  our  most  eminent  merchants,  and  bankers,  and  phy- 
sicians, and  architects,  and  heads  of  the  civil  service,  are 
you  not  almost  certain  to  name  men  who  make  no  secret 
of  their  religious  convictions,  and  in  some  cases  are  as  con- 
spicuous for  their  faith  and  Christian  philanthropy  as  they 
are  for  their  professional  or  commercial  success. 

Richard  Cobden  once  remarked  that  he  never  felt  con- 
fidence in  a  man  who  was  not  possessed  of  religion;  and, 
though  you  may  hear  many  a  sneer  cast  upon  Christian 
professors  (for  which  sometimes,  no  doubt,  there  is  too 
much  occasion),  you  will  rarely  find  that  a  man  of  sound 
sense  cares  to  entrust  any  matters  of  serious  importance  to 
one  who  has  not  the  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes. 

But,  oh !  above  and  beyond  any  gain  that  godliness  may 
be  to  you  in  the  present  life,  think  of  the  eternal  future 
that  awaits  you,  and  of  the  God  who  claims  your  homage 
and  your  love !  Your  highest  dignity,  your  truest  glory,  is 
to  have  God  enthroned  within  your  heart.     To  know  Him 


Setting  Out  in  Life. 


99 


as  your  Father,  and  to  live  under  His  smile,  is  the  supreme 
happiness  of  man. 

That  happiness  may  be  yours  now.     I  want  you,  not 

merely  to  end,  but  to  begin  your  career  with  it.     You  may 

indeed,  like  Abraham,  be  going  forth  not  knowing  whither 

you  go;   but   if,  like  him,  you  make  faith   in   God   your 

guiding   star,   your   path    will,    in   the   highest   sense,    be 

prosperous.      To  Abraham's    heart,   the  Gospel  of  Jesus, 

though  not  so  clearly  revealed  as  to  you,  brought  a  hidden 

joy.     "  He  saw  my  day,"  said  Christ,  "  and  was  glad."     He 

believed  in  the  mission  of  God's  eternal  Son,  and  that  filled 

him  with  delight.    Through  all  his  wanderings,  that  cheered 

and  nerved  his  soul.     So  let  it  be  with  you,  dear  brothers. 

You   are   going   forward,    many   of  you   to   difficulties   and 

troubles,  and  all  of  you  to  temptations  and  trials ;  the  lot 

of  some  of  you   may  be  among   strange  peoples  and   in 

distant  lands ;  but  with  faith  in  Christ  as  your  Redeemer, 

you  shall  not  flinch  nor  fail ;  life  will  be  a  victory  and  death 

a  triumph !     O  then,  man  immortal,  man  redeemed,  man 

blood-bought,  climb  out  of  the  dust,  and  grasp  the  crown. 

Settle  the  great  matter  now.     Come  all  of  you  into  the  safe 

harbour  of  justification  by  faith  and  peace  with  God ;  and 

then  spread  your  sails  and  steer  away  bravely  for  heaven. 

God  bless  you  all !     Amen. 


J 


Zi,i.im 


VIII. 


51 


** And  Ahab  saidy  By  whom  (i.e.,  shall  the  victory  be  achieved)? 
And  he  said^  Thus  saith  the  Lord^  even  by  the  young  men  of  the  prince* 
of  the  provinces,^'' — I  Kings  xx.  14. 


YOUNG  MEN  FROM  THE  COUNTR  7. 

HERE  were  two  hundred  and  thirty-two  brave  youths, 
by  whom  it  pleased  God  to  save  the  kingdom  of 
Israel.  Let  us  turn  our  minds  to  the  occasion,  and  see 
whether  we  cannot  get  some  instructive  lessons  from  it. 

If  ever  there  was  a  piece  of  crowned  imbecility,  it  was 
Ahab,  the  son  of  Omri,  the  seventh  monarch  of  the  separate 
kingdom  of  Israel.  Though  not"  altogether  without  some 
good  points,  he  was  a  poor,  weak  creature;  and  had  the 
misfortune  to  get  married  to  a  sort  of  Lady  Macbeth  of  her 
time,  one  of  the  most  depraved,  unscrupulous,  and  deter- 
mined women  that  ever  lived.  When  a  man  weds  a 
Jezebel,  it  is  all  up  with  him.  It  is  said  that  '^  uneasy  lies 
the  head  that  wears  a  crown " ;  but,  what  with  domestic 
infelicity  and  political  disquietude,  I  think  that  Ahab  must 
have  led  an  uncommonly  miserable  existence.  Amongst 
the  causes  of  his  incessant  trouble,  was  his  royal  neighbour, 
Ben-hadad,  the  king  of  Syria.  This  man  seems  to  have 
had  a  deep-rooted  ill-will  towards  Ahab,  and  to  have  cast 
covetous  eyes  upon  his  dominions ;  for  he  was  always  con- 
triving to  stir  up  war  between  them.  In  this  chapter  we 
find  him  securing  the  co-operation  of  not  less  than  thirty- 
two  vassal  kings;  and  organizing  a  huge  military  expedition, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  lay  siege  to  Samaria,  the  capital 
of  Ahab's  kingdom. 

I  do  not  know  that  history  records  a  more  daring  piece 
of  impudence  than  the  message  which  Ben-hadad  sent  to 


I04 


Talks  with   Yoting  Men, 


Ahab.  If  ever  one  king  offered  an  insult  to  another,  surely 
it  was  in  these  words  :  ''  Thus  saith  Ben-hadad,  thy  silver 
and  thy  gold  is  mine;  thy  wives  also,  and  thy  children, 
even  the  goodliest,  are  mine."  Of  course,  you  say,  a  dark 
scowl  instantly  overcast  the  face  of  Ahab ;  righteous  indig- 
nation seized  his  soul ;  and  by  all  the  powers  of  heaven  he 
swore,  that  the  last  drop  of  blood  in  his  veins  would  be 
spilt,  and  the  last  soldier  in  his  army  fall  in  battle,  sooner 
than  that  the  insolent  demand  of  that  Syrian  dog  would  be 
yielded  to.  Not  at  all.  The  mean  dastard  sent  back  the 
truculent  reply  :  "  My  lord,  O  king,  according  to  thy  saying, 
I  am  thine,  and  all  that  I  have."  He  was  ready  for  the  most 
abject  surrender,  could  he  but  save  his  life ;  he  would  rather 
live  a  beggar  than  die  a  king. 

When  Ben-hadad  sees  this,  he  becomes  still  more  in- 
solent and  imperious ;  and  the  next  word  he  sends  is  this  : 
"  Not  only  shall  I  have  your  silver  and  gold,  your  wives 
and  children  ;  but  to-morrow  at  this  time  I  will  send  my 
servants  to  rifle  and  ransack  your  whole  establishment; 
and  whatever  is  pleasant  and  valuable,  and  worth  laying 
their  hands  upon,  they  shall  carry  away."  We  have  heard 
a  good  deal  about  "  the  last  straw  that  breaks  the  camel's 
back";  well,  Ben-hadad  had  laid  on  that  straw.  Even 
Ahab  could  stand  it  no  longer;  so  he  suddenly  called  a 
meeting  of  the  chief  officers  of  his  court,  and  asked  their 
counsel  in  the  matter.  "Not  for  one  instant  listen  to  him," 
was  their  unanimous  voice  (for  I  suppose  they  were  already 
heartily  ashamed  of  their  cowardly,  sneaking  monarch). 

Did  Ahab  now  take  the  bull  by  the  horns,  and  show  his 
enemy  that  he  would  not  be  trifled  with'?  The  poor 
creature  sent  back  this  message  :  *'Tell  my  lord  the  king, 
all  that  thou  didst  send  for  to  thy  servant  at  the  first  I  will 
do ;  but  this  thing  I  may  not  do."  In  other  words,  he  will 
surrender  his  wives,  and  his  children,  and  a  portion  of  his 


^x 


Young  Men  from  the  Country,        105 

property;   but  there  were  certain  valuables  he  could  not 

consent  to  part  with.     ^ 

The  correspondence  still  went  on^  Ben-hadad  is  filled 
with  rage,  that  such  a  mean  abject  should  dare  to  resist 
him ;  and  with  a  big,  round  oath,  he  swears  that  he  will 
come  and  swallow  up  Samaria  and  its  king  together. 

And  now  for  the  first  sensible  word  out  of  Ahab's  lips. 
"  Take  this  message,  with  my  compliments,  to  the  King  ol 
Syria :  Let  not  him  that  girdeth  on  his  harness  boast  him- 
self as  he  that  puUeth  it  off."  Tell  the  foolish  braggart  not 
to  shout  before  the  victory.  We  can  fancy  what  effect  such 
a  message  would  have  on  a  proud  spirit  like  Ben-hadad's. 
It  was  delivered  to  him  as  he  was  sitting  with  his  con- 
federates, drinking  in  the  pavilions.  No  doubt  they  were 
having  a  jolly  time  of  it— he  and  the  thirty-two  vassal 
kings.  The  tankards  were  filled  with  sparkling  wine. 
Toast  followed  toast  in  quick  succession.  The  paltry 
kinglets  flattered  the  monarch  of  Syria,  till  his  head  was 
fairly  turned.  "Here's  to  the  health  of  Ben-hadad,  and 
a  glorious  victory  over  Ahab  to-morrow."  Just  at  that 
moment  the  message  came  from  Samaria :  "  Let  not  him 
that  girdeth  on  his  harness  boast  himself  as  he  that  pulleth 
it  off."  I  see  the  flush  rise  on  Ben-hadad's  face.  Snatch- 
ing his  sword,  he  cries,  ''To  arms  !  "  and  vows  that,  without 
an  hour's  delay,  Samaria  shall  be  in  ruins. 

Meanwhile  God  sends  a  prophet  to  Ahab,  king  of  Israel, 
to  assure  him  that  all  these  mighty  hosts  that  are  encamped 
around  the  city  shall  fall  into  his  hand.  "  Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  Hast  thou  seen  all  this  great  multitude  ?  Behold,  I 
will  deliver  it  unto  thine  hand  this  day;  and  thou  shalt 
know  that  I  am  Jehovah."  I  suppose  that  Ahab  can  hardly 
believe  the  prophet;  but  he  eagerly  asks,  "By  whom?" 
And,  in  the  words  of  my  text,  the  prophet  replies,  "  Even 
by  the  young  men  of  the  princes  of  the  provinces." 


io6 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


And  so  it  came  to  pass.  For,  as  we  find  in  the  sequel, 
these  young  lads  from  the  provinces — two  hundred  and 
thirty-two  in  number — went  out  bravely  at  the  head  of  a 
small  army  against  the  Syrians.  It  was  twelve  o'clock  at 
noon ;  but,  early  as  was  the  hour,  Ben-hadad  and  his  allies 
were  helplessly  drunk;  his  forces  were  demoralised  ;  there 
was  utter  confusion  in  the  camp ;  and,  slashing  right  and 
left,  these  volunteers  dashed  in  amongst  them  with  such 
frightful  execution,  that  a  panic  seized  the  host ;  those  that 
could  flee  fled,  and  those  that  resisted  were  slain ;  and  so 
it  came  to  pass  that  the  Syrians  were  utterly  routed,  the 
city  of  Samaria  saved,  and  the  kingdom  of  Israel  delivered  ; 
and  all  through  the  valour  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-two 
young  men.  So  that  my  subject  this  evening  is,— young 
men  the  saviours  of  their  country. 

Not  long  ago,  it  was  stated  in  a  public  meeting,  by  one 
who  has  done  as  much,  probably,  for  the  highest  interests 
of  youth  as  any  living  man,  that  there  are  not  less  than 
250,000  young  men  in  London.  More  than  a  thousand 
times  the  force  that  saved  the  kingdom  of  Samaria.  What 
an  enormous  power  for  good  or  for  evil  I  What  proportion 
of  this  number,  think  ye,  are  proving,  or  are  likely  to  prove, 
a  blessing  to  the  country  ?  Shall  we  say  twenty  per  cent.  ? 
ten-  per  cent.  ?  five  per  cent.  ?  Of  the  hundreds  whom  I 
see  before  me  now,  there  is  not  one  who  ought  not  to  be 
fired  with  the  ambition  to  make  his  life  a  blessing  to 
others. 

At  our  gates  there  is  a  legion  far  more  terrible  than 
Ben-hadad  and  all  his  allies.  There  are  moral,  social, 
political  corruptions  enough  to  overturn  society,  and  bring 
about  wholesale  revolution.  There  is  an  amount  of  drunken- 
ness, gambling,  debauchery,  unchastity,  bestiality,  ignorance, 
superstition,  atheism,  and  defiance  of  authority — all  arrayed 
against  the  best  interests  of  our  country — beside  which  all 


Young  Men  fro7n  the  Country,         107 

the  forces  of  Syria  are  not  to  be  mentioned.  What  is  to  be 
done  ?  Are  we  to  lose  heart,  and  give  up  the  battle  ?  Arc 
we,  like  that  despicable  poltroon,  Ahab,  to  truckle  to  the 
foe?  God  forbid.  I  believe  He  will  yet  deliver  all  that 
host  into  our  hand.  I  am  no  visionary  optimist,  when  I 
declare  that  a  blessed  time  shall  ere  long  dawn  upon  our 
land.  A  deliverance  is  coming.  You  say,  "  By  whom  ? '» 
and  I  answer,  in  the  words  of  my  text,  "  Even  by  the  young 
men  of  the  provinces." 

The  kingdom  of  Israel  was  divided  into  so  many  depart- 
ments, each  of  which  had  a  governor  or  "  prince  "  presiding 
over  it ;  and  these  princes,  in  turn,  effected  their  superin- 
tendence by  means  of  a  limited  number  of  young  men, 
selected  in  the  several  localities.  Suppose  that  there  were 
twelve  of  these  provinces,  the  number  of  these  young  men 
mentioned  here  would  give  nearly  an  average  of  twenty  to 
each  ;  and  we  cannot  doubt  that  those  who  were  chosen 
would  be  the  finest,  and  most  steady,  and  most  high- 
principled  to  be  found.  When  all  joined  together,  then, 
they  would  indeed  be  a  noble  phalanx.  I  do  not  wonder 
to  read  that  this  stalwart,  compact,  and  united  band  wrought 
such  a  havoc  among  the  foe. 

As  compared  with  past  days,  we  are  living  in  a  very 
millennium  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations.  The  tide 
has  turned  in  their  favour.  Everywhere  they  are  gaining 
amazingly.  They  are  commanding  influence  and  respect. 
It  is  the  best  young  men  that  join  them.  The  best  morally, 
religiously,  and  to  a  great  extent  intellectually.  Yes,  intel- 
lectually. These,  as  a  rule,  are  the  young  men  who  want 
to  learn  to  think  and  speak.  Wherever  you  have  one  of 
these  institutions  you  have,  if  it  is  possible,  reading-rooms 
stocked  with  sound  literature,  and  classes  of  all  sorts. 
These  are  the  young  fellows  that  wish  to  improve  their 
minds,  to  acquire  one  or  more  foreign  languages,  to  perfect 


io8 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


themselves  in  English  composition,  to  study  science,  and 
generally  to  advance  their  mental  culture.  These  are  the 
men  that  gladly  avail  themselves  of  instructive  lectures, 
that  borrow  wholesome  books  from  the  library,  and  that 
wish  to  keep  themselves  abreast  of  current  literature.  I 
do  not  go  there  to  meet  the  young  ne'er-do-we*els,  that 
find  their  supreme  enjoyment  in  idleness  and  tobacco ;  nor 
the  foul  rakes  that  are  rarely  home  by  midnight ;  nor  the 
perfumed  puppies  who  shine  only  in  the  ball-room;  nor 
the  brainless  fops  that  shoot  pigeons  at  Hurlingham ;  nor 
the  youthful  gamblers  who  are  laying  their  stakes  on  the 
approaching  boat-race ;  no :  such  characters  find  nothing 
to  attract  them  there,  and  commonly  affect  to  look  down, 
from  their  own  exalted  elevation,  with  something  like 
disdain,  upon  the  proper  and  well-conducted  young  men 
of  whom  I  have  spoken.  But  I  ask  you,  from  which  of 
these  groups  is  it  that  we  obtain  our  willing  helpers  in 
philanthropic  and  Christian  work;  to  which  do  you  look 
to  find  fresh  recruits  for  your  Sunday-school  enterprise, 
and  your  temperance  campaign  ?  to  which  direction  do  we 
turn  when  we  need  more  office-bearers  in  the  Church,  or 
additional  workers  amongst  the  ignorant  and  poor  ?  Ah  I 
we  do  not  need  to  think  twice  before  answering  that 
question. 

Now,  when  I  read  the  story  before  us,  and  see  how  the 
kingdom  of  Samaria  was  delivered  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  a  small  but  valiant  and  united  band  of  her  young 
men,  I  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  draw  from  the 
subject,  and  offer  to  you,  one  or  two  plain  aiid  practical 
lessons. 

I.  These  young  men  were  comparatively /<?«;  in  number. 
Two  hundred  and  thirty-two,  all  told.  I  guessed  that  there 
might  be  twelve  provinces,  and  allowing  for  one  or  two 
cases  of  absence  from   sickness,  twenty    men  from   each 


*- 


Young  Men  from  the  Country.        109 

province.  Well,  twenty  men  can  do  a  great  deal.  Many 
a  Christian  association  does  not  number  more.  Perhaps 
the  members  are  a  little  dispirited,  because  the  roll  does 
not  increase  as  they  would  desire ;  but  better  twenty  names 
representing  true  and  staunch  men,  who  faithfully  attend 
and  throw  themselves  into  the  work  of 'the  society,  than 
sixty  ornamental  signatures  of  gentlemen  who  always  forget 
the  day  of  meeting,  and  whose  memories  are  equally  faulty 
about  the  annual  subscription  I 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  in  any  town  or  locality  or 
congregation  you  choose  to  name,  whatever  moral  good  is 
effected  or  philanthropic  work  carried  on,  is  done  almost 
entirely  by  an  exceedingly  limited  number.  I  remember 
an  estimable  man,  resident  in  a  provincial  town  in  the 
North,  telling  me  that  whenever  any  great  institution— it 
might  be  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  or  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  or  any  other— sent  its  delegates 
to  the  place,  there  were  just  twenty  men  in  the  town  that 
could  be  reckoned  on  for  practical  support.  It  was  always 
the  same  men  that  helped  every  good  cause.  The  great 
mass  kept  aloof,  stood  to  one  side,  and  allowed  a  micro- 
scopic minority  to  do  the  whole.  There  is  always  a  number 
of  timid,  halting,  selfish  people,  who  will  look  on  and 
approve,  and  take  any  amount  of  credit  for  what  is  accom- 
plished, and  gladly  reap  whatever  benefit  may  accrue,  but 
do  none  of  the  work. 

Gideon  had  a  fine  army  when  he  went' against  the 
Midianites  at  the  hill  Moreh,  32,000  men,  all  told;  but  \ 
never  can  resist  a  laugh  when  I  read  of  those  brave  soldiers. 
*^  Whosoever  among  you  is  fearful  and  afraid,"  shouts 
General  Gideon,  on  the  eve  of  the  battle,  "  let  him  return 
and  depart ; "  and  instantly,  as  fast  as  their  legs  can  carry 
them,  22,000  scamper  off  over  the  hills  of  Gilead.  Well, 
he  has  10,000  left;  yet  of  these  there  was  not  so  much  as 


•J 


'*% 


no 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


one  in  thirty  altogether  equal  to  the  occasion.  By  a  hand- 
ful of  300  men  the  victory  was  wrought.  It  has  always 
been  the  case  in  the  history  of  the  world  ;  a  select  few  have 
been  the  means  of  bringing  blessings  to  the  mass.  Why, 
there  is  not  a  political  or  religious  advantage  we  enjoy  in 
this  land  which,  if  traced  back  to  its  source,  would  not 
illustrate  this  truth.  It  was  a  fine  old  saying  of  the  German 
reformers,  that  ".one,  with  God  on  his  side,  is  a  majority." 
Why,  supposing  we  have  250,000  young  men  in  London,  let 
there  be  only  Ahab's  232  with  God  upon  their  side,  and 
I  assert  they  are  the  majority;  they  are  on  the  winning 
side,  and  the  cause  they  represent  must  ultimately  prosper. 
How  many  of  you  belong  to  this  chosen  band  ? 

II.  These  young  men  that  saved  Samaria  were  lads  from 
the  provinces.  No  doubt  they  were  gathered  from  the 
districts  of  Sharon,  and  Shechem,  and  Seirath,  and  Mich- 
methah,  and  Shamir,  and  Ophrah,  and  other  parts  of  the 
kingdom.  They  were  "young  men  from  the  country." 
None  the  worse  for  that.  Samaria  was  a  bad  city ;  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  vice  there ;  and  probably  many  of  its 
young  men  were  loose  and  effeminate,  alike  in  body  and 
mind  poor  specimens  of  humanity;  and  the  kingdom  could 
not  be  saved  by  them ;  they  were  not  the  material  out  of 
which  soldiers  could  be  made.  So  the  provinces  were 
looked  to,  and  they  furnished  the  men. 

I  mean  no  disrespect  to  those  who  have  been  born  and 
bred  in  London,  when  I  say — what  is  a  well-known  fact — 
that  a  large  proportion  of  the  sound  moral  strength  of  the 
active  young  manhood  of  the  metropolis,  is  an  importation 
from  the  country.  This  yearly  immigration  is  one  of  the 
features  of  our  age.  Every  month  there  are  fresh  arrivals 
in  this  city,  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Not  a  town, 
and  scarcely  a  village  or  hamlet,  that  has  not  in  this  way 
some  link  to  London.     More  Irishmen  here  than  in  Dublin. 


taCi-^' 


.<-^ 


Young  Men  from  the  Countiy,        1 1 1 

More  Welshmen  here  than  in  Bangor.     More  Scotchmen 
here  than  in  Edinburgh. 

Well,  come  away ;  the  more  the  better,  so  long  as  there 
are  openings  for  you,  and  you  bring  good  principles  with 
you.  But,  if  there  is  constant  immigration,  there  is  also 
incessant  emigration.  Here  for  a  year  or  two,  and  then 
off;  Away  they  go  to  India,  and  China,  and  South  Africa, 
and  the  colonies;  the  blessing  of  God  go  with  them. 

We  expect  you,  gentlemen,  who  have  come  from  the 
quiet  rural  districts,  to  bring  a  wholesome  influence  with 
you.  If  you  do  go  wrong,  you  generally  become  the  worst 
of  all ;  but  if  you  keep  in  the  right,  way,  j^our  power  for 
good  is  incalculable. 

III.  These  young  men  who  delivered  Ssimsinsi  were  brave, 
and  fearless  of  the  foe.  Their  task,  it  is  true,  did  not  prove 
so  serious  as  it  might  have  been.  They  had  thirty-three 
kings  arrayed  against  them  ;  but — they  were  all  drunk  ! 

The  historian  does  not  mince  matters.     He  does  not  say 
the  Royal  party  were  somewhat  elevated  with  wine ;  but 
he   bluntly  states  that  "Ben-hadad  was   drinking  himself 
drunk,  he  and  the  thirty-and-two  kings  that  helped  him." 
Helped  him  indeed !    I  would  like  to  know  of  what  help 
a  man  can  be  to  any  cause  when  his  brain  is  stupefied  with 
alcohol.     The  Bishop  of  Peterborough,  had  he  been  there, 
would  have  said,  "  I  would  rather  see  the  Syrian  army  free 
than  sober."     "  Rather  see  England  free  than  sober  I"  Was 
there   ever   a   more    illogical  observation  from' a  bishop? 
Why,  England  is  not  free  unless  she  is  sober.     Never  was 
there  such  a  tyrant  as  drink.     There  is  no  slavery  more 
helpless  and  degrading  than  that  of  the  victims  of  intem- 
perance.   ■ 

But  for  all  that,  these  young  fellows  did  a  valiant  deed. 
Called  out  to  meet  the  enemy,  they  promptly  obeyed,  and 
did  not  stay  to  estimate    the  force  they  were  to  oppose. 


j- 


112 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


Young  Men  froin  the  Country,        113 


*'  For  God  and  our  country  "  was  their  motto,  and  forward 
they  went  I  They  remind  us  of  the  famous  chaige  at 
Balaclava,  which  called  forth  such  general  admiration  that 
the  words  were  in  everybody's  lips  : — 

"  Forward  the  Light  Brigade ! 
Was  there  a  man  dismayed  ? 
Not  though  the  soldier  knew 

Some  one  had  blundered. 

Theirs  not  to  make  reply, 
Theirs  not  to  reason  why, 
Theirs  but  to  do  and  die — 
Into  the  valley  of  death 

Rode  the  six  hundred  !*' 

Well,  this  is  the  class  of  men  we  want  in  the  battle  with 
error  and  vice.  Men  with  a  backbone  of  solid  principle, 
and  hearts  of  steel.  Men  that  have  the  courage  of  their 
convictions,  and  are  not  afraid  of  a  laugh  or  a  sneer.  I  tell 
you  that  the  foundation  of  true  valour  is  faith  in  God.  If 
you  visit  Westminster  Abbey,  you  will  see  the  epitapli  on 
Lord  Lawrence  in  these  words  : — "  He  feared  man  so  little, 
because  he  feared  God  so  much."  Now,  I  do  not  hesitate 
to  say — even  though  it  should  offend  some  flippant,  cynical 
trifler  here,  who  has  been  busy  for  the  last  half-hour  ad- 
miring his  rings  or  trimming  his  moustache— that  there 
are  not  a  few  young  men,  of  whom  it  might  be  declared  : 
''They  fear  man  so  much,  because  they  fear  God  so  little." 
Once  let  the  heart  be  dominated  by  Divine  grace,  and  you 
will  scorn  to  be  intimidated  by  a  taunt  or  a  jeer ;  you  will 
stand  to  your  guns  at  whatever  cost,  and  hold  by  your 
principles  to  the  death.  Mind  you,  it  is  a  tough  battle  you 
have  to  fight :  and  only  by  strength  from  heaven  you  will 
conquer.  It  was  a  good  epitaph  I  once  met  with  on  a 
Christian  soldier's  grave  : — 


x,x 


L 


*  Here  lies  a  soldier  whom  all  must  applaud, 
Who  fought  many  battles,  at  home  and  abroad 
But  the  hottest  engagement  he  ^erver  was  in 
Was  the  conquest  of  self  in  the  battle  of  sin." 

IV.  These  young  men  of  Samaria  suggest  to  me  several 
other  lessons;  but,  as  I  do  not  wish  you  to  be  taking  out 
your  watches,  I  will  add  but  one  more :  they  were  united 
and  concerted  in  their  action.  They  went  as  one  man  against 
the  foe.  Erratic  Christians,  who  dash  about  like  so  many 
Bashi-Bazouks,  acting  on  no  law  but  the  bidding  of  their 
own  caprice,  are  seldom  of  much  real  service.  They  are 
like  meteors ;  or  rather  like  squibs  or  rockets,  with  which 
boys  amuse  themselves.  They  sparkle,  and  splutter,  and 
make  a  noise,  and  leap  about  in  zigzag  fashion,  making 
everybody  jump  aside,  but — they  do  no  real  execution  ; 
whereas,  associated  and  well-ordered,  they  resemble  a 
regiment  in  even  line  abreast,  each  man  with  his  musket 
ready  for  discharge,  and  all  advancing  with  simultaneous 
step  against  the  enemy. 

I  advise  every  young  man  who  wants  to  do  well,  to 
attach  himself  to  some  sound  and  reliable  association,  for 
his  own  benefit,  as  well  as  the  general  good.  You  will 
find  it  an'  unspeakable  advantage.  The  late  Archbishop  ot 
Canterbury,  who  was  a  man  of  remarkable  and  statesman- 
like sagacity,  in  one  of  the  last  addresses  he  gave,  used 
these  words  :  "A  youth  who  has  no  companions  is  generally 
a  poor  specimen.  But  if  companionship  is  left  to  mere 
accident,  there  is  every  chance  that  it  will  increase  tempta- 
tion. A  young  man  comes  from  his  home  in  the  country, 
and  is  thrown,  say,  in  the  midst  of  London.  If  he  has  no 
one  to  give  him  a  friendly  hand,  he  must  naturally  take  up 
with  any  who  are  brought  near  him  in  the  routine  of  busi- 
ness or  the  pursuit  of  relaxation.  He  is  kept  busy  all  day, 
but  he  must  have  his  amusements.     Unacquainted  with  th3 

8 


^>^'- 


114      •         Talks  with  Young  Men. 

town,  he  does  not  know  where  or  how  safely  to  seek  them. 
It  is  as  likely  as  not,  that  some  young  man,  more  knowmg 
and  less  Christian  than  himself,  will  seek  his  society,  and 
initiate  him  into  what  is  called  ^ife/  It  will  be  well  for 
him,  then,  if  he  finds  in  his  counting-house  or  shop  that 
there  are  men  of  a  different  character,  who  are  not  only 
decided  in  their  religious  principles,  but  ever  on  the  outlook 
for  new-comers,  that  they  may  offer  them  the  hand  of  help 
and  welcome."  These  words  of  the  late  prelate  are  worthy 
to  be  weighed  by  you  all. 

The  ancient  Thebans  had  in  their  armies  a  band  of  men 
that  were  called  ^'  the  holy  band,"  consisting  of  such  from 
the  various  battalions  as  were  united  in  a  bond  of  love,  and 
were  sworn  to  live  and  die  together  in  the  service  of  their 
country.  These  men  were  reckoned  of  the  greatest  value. 
They  were  esteemed  the  strength  of  the  army,  and,  in  times 
of  danger  and  alarm,  were  the  nation's  hope. 

Oh  !  should  we  not  have  in  England  such  a  confederacy  ? 

Should  not  our  Christian  young  men  be  more  and  more 

leagued  together  in  holy  compact-thank  God  for  what  is 

doing  in  this  direction-resolved  to  deliver  our  land  from 

the   Syrians  who  threaten   it?     This   is  what  we  want. 

Before  and  above  all  movements  for  the  diminution  of  the 

hours  of  labour,  and  adjustment  of  the  rate  of  wages,  and 

equalizing  of  taxation,  and  extension  of  the  francnise,  and 

so  forth,  we  want  the  powerful  momentum  of  the  Christian 

young  manhood  of  the  country  directed  against  every  form 

of  social  impurity,  commercial  immorality,  and  incipient 

atheism.     We  want  men  rich  in  all  the  higher  qualities  of 

mind  and  character;  men  of  courage,  the  moral  courage 

which  enables  its  possessor  to  rule  over  himself,  and  makes 

him  steadfast  in  doing  what  is  right,  and  resisting  what  is 

wrong ;   men  of  truth,  who  scorn  to  lend  themselves  to 

anything   that   is  dishonourable,  and    hate  and  abhor  all 


«.  rf:^- 


I  • 


'*¥.J^ 


Young  Men  from  the  Country.         1 1 5 

shams ;  men  of  discretion,  who  know  how  they  can  best 
meet  the  wants  of  the'  age  ;  above  all,  men  of  faith,  who 
can  pierce  the  shadows  of  this  short-lived  scene,  and  live  as 
obedient  servants  of  the  Most  High  God ;  only  give  us  such 
a  body  of  young  men,  representing  the  country  in  all  its 
provinces,  and  then— no  fear  of  all  the  Ben-hadads  of  evil ; 
the  cause  of  truth  and  righteousness  is  near  to  victory ! 

Just  one  word  more,  but  a  word  I  dare  not  leave  unsaid. 
I  am  not  preaching  a  mere  earth-born  morality.  I  do  not 
believe  in  it.  Any  hope  I  may  have  of  stimulating  you  to 
truth  and  goodness,  rests  on  that  Divine  grace,  which  is  to 
be  found,  and  found  only,  at  the  cross  of  our  dear  Redeemer. 
Go  to  Christ  for  pardon,  for  peace,  for  power.  Go  to  Christ 
for  the  secret  of  a  happy  and  a  useful  life.  Get  rid  of  your 
sins  at  that  fountain,  from  whose  crimson  margin  even  a 
Manasseh  and  a  Magdalene  have  gone  up  to  glory;  and 
accepted  of  God,  let  your  lives  be  full  of  beauty  and  bless- 
ing. Oh  that  the  youth  of  Britain  were  fired  with  no  meanei 
ambition  than  this  ;  and  that — 

"  However  crowns  and  coronets  be  rent, 
A  virtuous  populace  might  rise  the  while, 
And  stand,  a  wall  of  fire,  around  our  much-loved  isle.* 

Amen. 


THE  EYES  OF  A   YOUNG  MAN  OPENED. 


^^  And  the  Lord  opened  the  eves  o*the  votm^  man.** — 2  Kings  vi.  17. 


IX 


THE  EYES  OF  A   YOUNG  MAN"  OPETTED, 


SAID  young  man  was  a  kind  of  secretary  or  aide-de-camp 
to  the  prophet  Elisha.  His  name  is  not  known.  He 
had  only  recently  got  the  appointment.  '  The  situation  had 
become  vacant  in  a  remarkable  way.  The  young  man  who 
held  it  before  had  misconducted  himself.  That  inordinate 
love  of  gain  which  has  been  the  destruction  of  so  many, 
which  almost  every  week  tempts  some  well-doing  young  man 
in  London  off  the  rails  of  virtue,  and  plunges  him  in  misery, 
proved  his  ruin.  He  had  looked  with  covetous  eye  upon 
the  riches  of  Naaman  the  Syrian,  and  by  wholesale  and 
barefaced  lying  had  come  into  possession  of  some  of  it,  and 
the  Lord  struck  him  with  an  incurable  leprosy.  Oh,  it  was 
a  sad  day  for  Gehazi,  when  he  yielded  to  the  tempter  I 

Verily,  "  tlie  way  of  transgressors  is  hard."  He  lost  his 
situation,  but  that  was  the  smallest  part  of  it  He  lost  his 
health,  too,  lost  his  character,  lost  his  self-respect,  lost  a 
clean  conscience,  lost  everything  that  he  had  to  lose,  and 
disappears  from  view — a  young  man  wrecked  and  ruined 
by  the  love  of  money.  I  hope  his  successor  was  a  better 
man.  I  think  he  was.  I  think  he  was  one  of  the  students, 
or  "  sons  of  the  prophets  "  at  Gilgal.  The  occasion  to  which 
the  text  introduces  us  was  this.  You  must  understand 
that  the  kings  of  Syria  and  of  Israel  were  at  war  with  one 
another.  The  former  was  the  aggressor.  He  was  devising 
all  kinds  of  measures  for  defeating  the  Israelites;  but,  as 


I20 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


often  as  he  laid  some  secret  plan  for  a  sudden  and  success- 
ful attack,  he  found  that  a  spy  or  traitor  had  acquainted  the 
enemy  with  his  design,  and  so  his  plan  was  thwarted. 
This,  of  course,  was  very  annoying  to  the  Syrian  monarch ; 
and  having  summoned  a  meeting  of  his  officers,  he  demanded 
to  know  which  of  them  it  was  that  was  playing  false  with 
him,  and  treacherously  conveying  information  to  the  King 
of  Israel.  With  one  voice  they  all  denied  the  charge, 
"  but,"  said  one  of  them,  "  I  think  I  can  explain  the  matter. 
There  is  a  prophet  in  Israel,  Elisha  by  name,  to  whom  the 
gods  give  knowledge  of  all  that  thou  doest,  and  he  telleth 
to  the  King  oi  Israel  even  the  words  that  thou  speakest  in 
thy  bed-chamber."  On  hearing  this,  Jehoram  was  filled 
with  rage,  and  having  found  out  that  Elisha  was  at  present 
staying  at  a  little  town  called  Dotham,  he  sent  there  a 
powerful  army  oi"  Infantry  and  cavalry  to  take  the  prophet 
prisoner,  and  put  him  to  death.  This  army  came  by  night, 
and  as  the  town  stood  upon  an  eminence,  they  surrounded 
it  on  every  side,  to  secure  that  Elisha  should  not  by  any 
possibility  escape.  The  people  of  Dotham  were  all  sound 
asleep,  as  also  was  Elisha,  and  they  knew  nothing  of  what 

was  going  on. 

Next  morning  the  young  man,  the  prophet's  attendant, 
was  up  betimes;  we  are  told  he  "rose  early";  and  this 
was  a  good  sign  of  him  (what  good  can  you  expect  of  lazy 
fellows  that  lie  long  a-bed  in  the  morning  ?);  but,  as  he 
stepped  out  to  have  a  turn  and  breathe  the  fresh  air,  he 
was  startled  and  affrighted  to  behold  the  city  compassed 
round  with  soldiers  and  horses  and  chariots  of  the  King  of 
Syria.     He  ran  back  to  his  lodgings  in  terrible  dismay,  and 
woke  up  Elisha,  saying,  "  Alas  I  master,  what  shall  we  do  ? 
The  whole  town  is  surrounded  by  armed  men ;  there  are 
mounted  soldiers  and  chariots  of  war;  the  place  is  alive 
with    desperate-looking    Syrians;    and    their    spears   and 


*A 


The  Eyes  of  a   Young  Man  Opened,    1 2 1 

helmets  are  gleaming  in  the  morning  sun.  They  are 
round  about  us  on  evefy  side,  so  that  there  is  no  outlet. 
Master,  what  ever  shall  we  do  ?  " 

And  the  prophet,  without  moving  a  muscle,  looked  upon 
him  calmly,  and  said,  "  Fear  not ;  for  they  that  be  with  us 
are  more  than  they  that  be  with  them ; "  and  then,  clasping 
his  hands  and  looking  up  to  heaven,  he  said,  "  Let  us  pray. 

0  Lord,  I  pray  Thee,  open  his  eyes,  that  he  may  see." 
The  prayer  was  immediately  answered ;  for  so  my  text 

relates ;  "  And  the  Lord  opened  the  eyes  of  the  young 
man,"  that  is,  gave  him  a  supernatural  vision,  that  he  might 
see  the  realities  of  the  spiritual  world ;  and  lo  I  the  moun- 
tain was  full  of  horses  and  chariots  of  fire  round  about 
Elisha  and  himself.  These  were  the  angels  of  God,  sent  to 
be  their  body-guard ;  for  "  the  chariots  of  God  are  twenty 
thousand,  even  thousands  of  angels;  the  Lord  was  with 
them,  as  in  Sinai,  in  the  holy  place." 

Elisha's  prayer  was  one  which,  in  a  somewhat  different 
sense,  has  often  been  offered  up  in  this  place;  and,  thank 
God,  has  been  answered,  too.  And  are  we  not  justified  in 
believing  that,  if  the  prophet  was  immediately  answered 
when  he  besought  God  to  give  to  his  attendant  a  temporary 
view  of  the  world  of  spirits,  still  more  readily  shall  we  be 
heard,  when  we  entreat  Him  to  remove  from  the  eyes  of 
some  young  man  the  fatal  darkness  of  unbelief,  and  impart 
that  faith  which  is  *'  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen  "  ? 

Let  me  speak  to  you,  then,  for  a  few  moments  about  this 
spiritual  blindness.  Not  more  incapable  was  that  young 
man  at  Dotham  of  seeing  the  angelic  hosts  which  were 
mustered  around  than  are  we  in  our  natural  state  of  appre- 
hending the  things  that  belong  to  our  salvation.  I  am  not 
referring  to  persons  who  are  openly  wicked  and  vicious ; 

1  do  not  doubt,  for  a  moment,  that  that  youth  who  waited 
upon  Elisha  was  a  moral,  exemplary,  well-principled  man  f 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


122 

and  yet,  not  until  a  supernatural  power  came  down  upon 
him  L;  above,  had  he  the  faintest  notion  of  'he  ^P'"'-^^ 
battalions  that  were  so  near.  We  are  all  "'--;  '"^  ' 
blind  to  the  things  of  God  and  of  etern.ty  ^Imd  to  o- 
actual  condition  and  danger,  blind  to  our  highest  mterests 
blind  to  the  excellency  of  Christ  and  to  the  *>e^"t'«  °* 
holiness.  Never  to  this  hour  has  the  carnal  eye  been  able 
to  =ee,  nor  natural  heart  to  perceive,  "  the  th.ngs  wh.ch 
So^   hath   prepared"   in   the  Gospel  for  them   that   love 

T-Iim 

What  is  the  secret  of  so  many  earnest  appeals  unre- 
sponded  to,  so  many  solemn  sermons   unblest,  so  many 
ILtling   p  ovidences   unsanctified,  but   that   the  mass   of 
men  are  living  in  a  fool's  paradise,  without  a  conception 
S  the  Iwful  realities  around  them.     One  would  reasonably 
suppose  that  any  uncertainty  about  ^^e  great  future  would 
awaken  the  deepest  emotions;  that  a  smgle  thought  of  the 
Tst  "  deserts  of  eternity  "  that  lie  before  them  would  make 
men  utterly  wretched  until  they  had  found  peace  w,th  God 
Sut  no!    As  though  only  that  had  existence  -hich  the.r 
fleshly  eyes  behold,  they  live  in  utter  unconcern  as  to  the 
world  to  come.     If  the   two  destinies  we  have  to  choose 
between  were  very  much  like  each  other ;  if  they  were  but 
two  phases  of  the  same  thing;  if  heaven  were  only  a  l.ttle 
better  than  hell,  and  hell  only  a  Uttle  worse  than  heaven,  U 
wo"  Id    not   be  so   surprising  the   indifference   which   men 
display      But,  when  the  one  is  all  brightness  and  song,  and 
the  other  all  blasphemy  and  black  despair;  when  the  one 
means  everlasting  association  with  the  P"'-^"'^  8°°'^' ^Z* 
the  glorious  angels,  and  with  a  smiling  God,  and  the  other 
the  eternal  company  of  cursing  fiends  and  raging  devils, 
between  which  two  groups  there  is  fixed  a  great  and  im- 
passable gulf-Oh  how  can  you  explain  it,  that  the  very 
thought  of  the  bare  possibility  of  missing  the  one,  and  ol 


... 


The  Eyes  of  a   Young  Man  Opened,    123 

dropping  into  the  other,  does  not  take  the  colour  out  of  a 
man's  cheek,  and  make  him  cry  for  mercy  ?    There  are  men 
living  in  this  street  and  in  that  street  round  about  us— 
men  who  are  fairly  educated  and  intelligent— shrewd  enough 
in  their  worldly  affairs,  and  respectable  in  their  families- 
men  who  offer  no  disrespect  to  the  Christian  pastor,  and 
never  throw  any  ridicule  upon  the  Bible ;  and  when  I  speak 
to  them  of  the  necessity  pf  repentance  and  conversion,  oi 
the  ruin  of  sin  and  the  redemption  of  grace,  they  are  as 
little  mcved  as  the  floor  on  which  they  stand;   these  things 
are  to  them  but  ''as  idle  tales,  and  they  heed  them  not :" 
we  mourn  to  them  in  the  Law,  but  they  will  not  lament : 
we  pipe  to  them  in  the  Gospel,  but  they  will  not  dance  ; 
our  wooings  and  our  warnings  are  alike  in  vain ;  heaven 
may   chant,    and    hell     may  groan;    but    notwithstanding 
all,  they  remain  untouched,  they  "  care  for  none  of  these 

things." 

I  say,  how  are  you  to  account  for  this  ?  What  explanation 
can  you  offer  of  a  phenomenon  so  strange,  unless  it  be  that 
their  eyes  are  closed  to  all  that  is  outside  the  realms  of 
sense  ?  Can  you  wonder  that  the  servant  of  God,  feeling 
his  utter  powerlessness  and  incompetency,  looks  up  to 
heaven,  and,  like  Elisha,  cries,  ''  O  Lord,  I  pray  Thee,  open 
their  eyes  that  they  may  see  "  ? 

For  that  veil  that  hides  from  men  the  stern  realities  of 
the  other  kingdom,  that  thick,  impenetrable  veil,  no  hand 
but  God's  can  tear  aside.  ''  Since  the  world  began  was  it 
not  heard,  that  any  man  opened  the  eyes  of  one  that  was 

born  blind." 

But  I  would  wish  you,  my  brothers,  to  bear  in  mind,  that 
this  natural  opacity  may  by  yourselves  be  made  tenfold 
more  dense  and  deep.  "  Their  eyes  they  have  closed,"  says 
the  Lord.     It  is  a  wilful  blindness. 

I  know  young  men  who  are  deliberately  intensifying  their 


-- 


\' 


;>'-^ 


124 


TaiJks  with   Young  Men. 


spiritual  darkness  by  reading  atheistical  books.     If  a  fresh 
attack  on  Christianity  is  published,   they   must   have  the 
volume.      If  some  lecture  on  so-called  "Free-thought"  is 
to  be  delivered,   they  must  go  and  hear  it.     They  work 
themselves  into  the  belief  that  reason  is  opposed  to  reve- 
lation—that, with  the  advancement  of  science,  and  progress 
of  mental  culture,  the  Bible  must  go  to  the  wall.     Perhaps 
some  one  present  is  being  caught  in  this  snare.     It  is  one 
which  the  devil  is  fond  of  laying  for  young  men.     But,  will 
that  young  man  just  be  kind  enough  to  give  me  his  ear  for 
one  moment?    When  we  want  to  make  up  our  opinion 
about  certain  principles,    we  naturally  ask,   Who  are  the 
men   that  hold   them?    I  do   not  say  this  is  an  infallible 
test ;  and  yet  I  frankly  own   to  you,   that,   if  I  found   all 
the 'best    thought   and    intellect   and    culture    opposed    to 
Christianity,  and   the  Gospel   accepted   only   by  brainless 
fools,  I  should  feel  somewhat  confounded.     But  what  are 

the  facts? 

If  the  highest  intellect  and  the  highest  character  are  tests 
to  guide  us,  then  Christ's  religion  must  be  the  best  thing  in 
this  world.     The  most  eminent  men  in  our  country  to-day, 
the  men  who  occupy  the  highest  position  in  the  realm  of 
law,  men  whose  very  business  is  to  weigh  evidence  and 
sift  specious  arguments;  these  men— I   may  instance  the 
present  Lord  Chancellor,  and  the  ex-Lord  Chancellor,  and 
the  Lord  Chief  Justice— are  men  who,  not  only  in  theory, 
but  in  practical  daily  life,  testify  to  their  sincere  acceptance 
of  the  Gospel.     I  never  introduce  politics  in  this  place,  but 
I  will  say  that  I  pity  the  individual,  to  whatever  camp  he 
belongs,   who  does    not   acknowledge  that  in   the  present 
Prime    Minister   of  England   we   have   a   man   of  almost 
unexampled    intellectual    power,   and    of  equally    eminent 
moral  character;    well,  hear  what  he  said  not  long  ago, 
when  addressing  a  large  body  of  young  men ;— «  Depend 


4^   Vi* 


The  Eyes  of  a   Young  Man  Opened,    125 

upon  it,  gentlemen,  those  who  boast  or  think  that  the 
intellectual  battle  against  Christianity  has  been  fought  and 
won,  are  reckoning  without  their  host.  In  my  belief, 
human  thought  is  not  yet  divorced,  either  from  the  vital 
essence  of  Christianity,  or  from  the  cardinal  facts  and 
truths  which  are  to  that  essence  as  the  body  is  to  the  soul ; 
and  if  and  when  that  divorce  arrives,  with  it  will  come  the 
commencement  and  the  pledge  of  radical  decay  in  the 
civilization  of  the  world.  Christianity,  gentlemen,  even  in 
its  sadly  imperfect  development,  is,  as  simple  matter  of 
fact,  at  the  head  of  the  world.  As  the  first  existing  power 
it  rules  the  earth." 

May  God  open  the  eyes  of  some  young  men  to  see  this, 
whose  minds  are  warped  by  the  baseless  notion  that  the 
religion  of  Jesus  is  at  variance  with  a  vigorous  intellec- 
tualism  I  • 

Again,  I  pray  God  to  open  the  eyes  of  those  of  you, 
young  men,  who  cannot  see  an  inch  beyond  your  mere 
worldly  interests.  For,  it  is  a  fact,  that  the  horizon  of 
many  is  bounded  by  their  material  prospects.  A  curtain, 
growing  every  day  more  dense,  divides  them  from  all  that 
is  spiritual,  eternal,  and  sublime.  They  are  incapable  of 
looking  beyond  matters  of  £^  s.  d.  They  are  absorbed 
with  business.  I  said  one  day  to  a  respectable  tradesman, 
carrying  on  business  within  a  hundred  yards  of  this  church, 
"  When  are  you  going  to  begin  to  think  of  eternity,  and 
come  to  the  House  of  God?"  His  reply  I  shall  never 
forget.  "I  know,  sir,  that  I  ought  to  come,  but  it's  no 
use,  my  mind  is  so  full  of  business  I  can  think  of  nothing 
else."  That  man  was  practically  giving  himself  up  for  lost. 
He  was  older  than  most  of  you,  and  I  trust  none  of  you  are 
in  that  state;  but,  remember,  it  grows  on  one.  Talk  of 
a  man  beginning  life  when  he  is  twenty-one !  Why,  that 
is  just  about  the  time  when  virtually  many  'do  close  life. 


I 


ii:i 


126 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


I  believe  that,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  all  the  questions  o! 
eternity  are  decided  before  a  man  is  twenty-five.  He  may 
live  sixty  years  after  that,  and  yet,  in  all  probability,  his 
character  is  already  formed,  and  his  attitude  determined 
towards  the  great  matters  of  religion. 

Let  a  man  live  to  seventy,  the  latter  fifty  years  of  his 
life  are  not  so  important  as  the  first  twenty.  And,  if  you 
cut  off  the  years  of  irresponsible  childhood,  O  how  limited 
is  the  time  in  which  the  seeds  of  future  character  and 
destiny  are  to  be  sown  I  A  man  wakes  up  at  forty  years 
of  age,  to  find  that  his  very  soul  is  so  permeated  and 
saturated  with  matters  secular,  and  matters  commercial, 
and  matters  financial,  he  is  utterly  unable  to  apprehend  a 

spiritual  truth. 

I  want  you,  then,  dear  young  men,  to  understand,  that 
your  eternity  is  wrapped  up  in  the  present  hour ;  and  that, 
if  you  let  the  flower  of  your  days  pass  without  a  real  and 
profound  perception  of  eternal  things,  the  chances  are  you 
will  never  have  such  a  perception  at  all.  "O  Lord,  I  pray 
Thee,  open  their  eyes  that  they  may  see." 

Again,  there's  a  youth  who  is  giving  the  reins  to  his 
passions,  indulging  the  flesh  with  every  gratification.  Oh 
that  the  Lord  would  but  open  his  eyes  to  see  his  infatuate 
folly  1  There  is  hardly  a  day  that  I  do  not  come  in  contact 
with  some  case  of  a  young  man  who  is  acting,  positively, 
as  though  he  were  blind,  running  into  excesses  of  all  sorts, 
as  though  there  were  no  terrible  retribution  to  follow. 
Only  the  other  week  a  gentleman  called  to  see  me,  holding 
a  petition  in  his  hand,  which  he  wished  me  to  sign. 
"What  is  it?"    I  said.     "It  is  an  appeal  to  the  Court  to 

deal  as  mercifully  as  the  law  will  allow  with ." 

''What  is  the  matter?"  I  inquired.  "Oh,  have  you  not 
heard  ?  He  has  got  into  trouble,  poor  fellow,  and  has  com- 
mitted forgery."     I  was  startled,  for  I  had  known  him  only 


The  Eyes  of  a   Young  Man  Opened,   1 2  7 

as  a  respectable,  trustworthy  man.  I  am  not  aware  whether 
the  petition  had  much  weight,  but  that  man  is  to-day  in 
"durance  vile,"  and  will  come  out  of  gaol  in  a  few  months 
with  a  character  lost  and  prospects  ruined  for  life,  all 
through  self-indulgence  and  idiotic  folly.  He  had  got 
amongst  betting  men,  and  had  given  way  to  drinking  and 
gambling,  and  lo  !  the  sure  consequence. 

What  on  earth  can  be  the  fascination  of  such  vices  I 
cannot  imagine.  Surely,  if  there  is  loathsome  company 
out  of  hell,  it  is  the  society  of  such  men.  Their  very 
breath  is  putrid  as  the  sepulchre.  It  seems  to  me  as 
though  it  must  be  with  bandaged  eyes  that  some  men  do 
rush  into  such  iniquity,  whose  issues  are  always  remorse, 
and  ruin,  and  death. 

Young  man !  what  made  you  hang  down  your  head  the 
other  day  when  you  slipped  out  of  that  public-house  ?  You 
should  rather  have  hung  down  your  head  when  you  entered 
it ;  for  I  defy  you  to  have  repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer  that 
night  with  honest  lips,  "  Lead  me  not  into  temptation,  but 

deliver  me  from  evil." 

Again,  I  take  encouragement  from  the  text  to  pray  for 
some  of  you,  that  the  Lord  would  open  your  eyes  to 
apprehend  the  Gospel,  to  see  Christ  as  your  Saviour.  For 
this,  every  man  needs  Divine  illumination.  In  early  days, 
when  I  was  deeply  anxious  about  my  soul,  I  sometimes 
said  to  myself,  "  Such  and  such  a  minister,  I  think,  could 
bring  me  into  the  light."  But  I  found  that  only  God 
Himself  could  do  it.     Not  till  He  took  me  in  hand,  were 

my  eyes  opened. 

I  remember,  when  visiting  Ireland  during  the  great 
Revival  in  1859,  of  being  struck  with  the  way  in  which 
so  many  of  the  converts  described  the  change  that  had 
come  over  them,  as  though  it  were  the  removing  of  a 
bandage  which  had  hitherto  been  over  their  eyes.     "  Now 


MMik- 


128 


il 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


I  see  itl"    they  would  say,  as  they  passed  out  of  darkness 
into  marvellous  light. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  have  reasoned  with  an  anxious  man 
till  I  could  add  no  more,  trying  to  unfold  the  Gospel  to 
him,  and  still  he  sadly  replied,  "I  cannot  see  it  I"  Ah  I 
truly  does  the  Psalmist  say,  "  The  Lord  openeth  the  eyes 
of  the  blind."       . 

The  great  Napoleon  thought  of  going  over  into  Italy.  His 
friends  laughed  at  him,  and  said,  "You  can  never  cross 
the  Alps.  If  you  know  anything  about  these  mountains, 
you  must  know  you  can  never  get  over  there."  Napoleon 
waved  his  hand,  and  said,  '^  There  shall  be  no  Alps."  Then 
the  road  was  made  through  the  Simplon  Pass ;  and  thou- 
sands have  gone  over  since.  So  the  great  Alpine  barrier 
of  your  sins  divides  you  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but 
God  opens  your  eyes,  and  lo  I  Christ  has  made  a  way; 
and  through  the  Simplon  Pass  of  redemption  you  cross 
over  into  the  land  of  flower  and  sunshine.  May  every 
Bartimeus  here  to-night  have  his  eyes  opened  ! 

There  is  one  point  more,  and  it  comes  nearer  to  the  text 
than  any  that  I  have  mentioned.  Some  of  you  have  a 
terrible  battle  to  fight  with  temptation.  You  say,  "It  is 
almost  hopeless  for  me  to  attempt  to  be  a  Christian.'*  Y(  u 
go  into  the  city,  just  as  this  young  man  did  into  Dotham, 
and  find  it  occupied  with  the  armed  hosts  of  the  enemy. 
The  Syrians  of  lust,  and  avarice,  and  ridicule,  and  atheism 
and  poisonous  literature,  and  evil  companions  and  emis- 
saries of  hell,  beset  you  on  every  side,  till  you  think  it  is 
no  use  trying  to  remain  pure,  or  trying  to  live  a  godly  Hie  ; 
and  you  sigh,  "Alas!  Master,  what  shall  we  do?"  But, 
my  loved  brother,  if  God  will  but  open  your  eyes,  you  will 
see  that  far  greater  are  they  that  are  with  you  than  all  that 
be  against  you ;  you  are  surrounded  by  invisible  hosts  of 
ministering  angels,  "who  are  sent  forth  to  minister  unto 


1 


The  Eyes  of  a  Young  Man  Opened,    1 2  9 

them  who  shall  be  heirs. of  salvation."  "The  angel  of  the 
Lord  encampeth  round  about  them  that  fear  Him,  and 
delivereth  them."  He  will  not  sufter  you  to  be  tempted 
above  that  ye  are  able. 

Oh,  never  imagine  that  any  temptation  is  too  strong 
to  be  resisted,  or  any  foe  too  mighty  to  be  vanquished. 
God  is  able  to  make  you  stand.  His  grace  is  sufficient 
for  you,  and  His  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness. 

I  should  not  be  worthy  of  the  name  of  a  Christian  pastor, 
if  I  were  not  touched  to  behold  before  me  to-night  so  noble 
an  assembly  of  young  men.  God  only  knows  the  difficulties 
and  conflicts  which  some  of  you  have  to  endure  I  If  any  of 
you  are  strangers  and  alone,  to  you  especially  to-night  my 
heart  goes  out  in  profound  -and  loving  sympathy.  You 
must  not  remain  alone.  You  must  not  continue  unknown. 
Isolation  is  weakness,  association  is  strength.  Come  into 
fellowship  with  Christian  brothers  here,  who  are  ready 
with  the  cheering  word  and  the  helping  hand. 

Among  the  mountains  of  Switzerland,  where  the  diffi- 
culties and  dangers  of  travellers  are  great,  they  have  a 
way  of  binding  a  group  of  adventurers  together.  Before 
they  commence  the  slippery  and  perilous  ascent,  a  strong 
cord  is  bound  round  the  waist  of  each,  and  all  are  then 
tied  together,  so  that  every  one  helps  the  others,  and  if 
a  brother  slip,  they  pull  him  up  again.  I  want,  in  Christian 
association,  thus  to  bind  you  all,  and  help  every  one  of  you 
up  the  hill  to  higher  elevations  of  virtue  and  piety.  Re- 
member if  you  do  not  climb,  you  fall ;  if  you  do  not 
advance,  you  recede.     Beware  I 

There  is  an  awful  word  with  which  I  sometimes  hear 
young  men  pollute  their  Hps,  and  which  occurs  but  once 
in  the  Bible,  and  that  in  a  terribly  solemn  connection,  as 
the  downward  course  of  the  reprobate  is  described.  The 
word  is  "devilish."     Hear  the  whole  sentence,  and  mark 

9 


sn 


riM 


1 


if 


130 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


the  fearful  gradation.  "  Earthly,  sensual,  devilish  I  **  Facilis 
descensus  Avemo.  Earthly;  that  is,  under  the  influence 
of  the  world,  living  only  for  business,  for  money,  for 
mammon,  and  nothing  higher ;  a  mere  earthworm,  with 
no  better  aspirations  than  a  comfortable  temporal  provision. 
That  is  the  first  step  ;  and  it  is  bad  enough.  But  the  next 
is  worse.  Sensual ;  living  for  brutish,  fleshy  gratification, 
indulging  the  lowest  passions  of  one's  nature,  pursuing 
carnal  pleasure,  and  sacrificing  everything  in  the  chase. 
Surely  that  is  low  enough.  But  you  cannot  stop  there. 
You  are  on  an  incline,  and  you  are  not  yet  at  the  bottom. 
Down  you  go.  Devilish.  Yes  ;  for  this  is  what  you  will 
become;  the  image  of  God  completely  effaced;  even  all 
that  is  man-like  crushed  out  of  you ;  and  you  fit  now  only 
to  associate  with  devils.  Frightful  degradation  ;  and,  per- 
haps, some  of  you  are  already  on  the  slope.  Mind,  the 
gradient  is  steep  I 

But  if  you  are  under  the  power  of  Christian  faith,  your 
course  is  just  the  opposite.  Instead  of  being  ''earthly, 
sensual,  devilish,"  it  is  "  heavenly,  spiritual,  divine  I " 
All  that  is  manly  in  you  becomes  ennobled  and  refined; 
and,  reaching, beyond  this,  you  "become  partakers  of  the 
divine  nature,  having  escaped  the  corruption  that  is  in 
the  world  through  lust."  The  Lord  open  the  eyes  of 
every  young  man  here,  revealing  to  you  the  heights  of 
dignity  that  stand  before  you,  and  filling  you  with  all 
pure  and  noble  aspirations  !     Amen. 


TRUE  TO  THE  RELIGION  OF  ONE'S  FATHERS. 


J) 


'1\ 


•*  TAi    Anj^gl^   which   redeemed  we  from  all  ernl^  hicss  the  fads.**- 
Gen.  xlviii.  i 


X. 

TRUE  TO  THE  RELIGION  OF  ONE'S  FA  THERS. 

GRANDPARENTS  are  apt  to  be  partial  and  indulgent. 
As  a  rule,  they  are  more  lenient  to  their  children's 
children  than  they  used  to   be  to  their  own.     As  years 
advance,   the   heart   (at   least   in   many   instances)  grows 
more   warm    and    tender,    especially    where  piety  softens 
and   refines  the  character.     Some  old   folks  there  are,  to 
be  sure,  who   are   peevish    and    irritable,  who  cannot  be 
troubled  with  young  people,  and  have  not  a   kind  word 
to  say  to  them  ;  but  let  us  hope  these  are  the  exceptions. 
I  think  we  have  all  known  venerable  persons,  mellowed 
by  the  infiuence  of  years,  whom  \o  see  was  to  love.     We 
like  to  be  with  them.     We  lov6  to  listen  to  them.     Their 
words  are  an  inspiration.      Their  smile  is  a  benediction. 
We   like   to   get  close   up   to  that  big  arm-chair  by  the 
fireside,  where  old  grandfather  sits,  and  see  him  take  off 
his  spectacles,  and  with  a  kind  look  into  our  face,  prepare 
himself  for  a  chat.     Those  who  never  knew  what  it  was 
to  have  a  grandfather  or  a  grandmother  have  missed  much. 
I  believe  the  influence  of  old  people  upon  the  young  to  be 
very  wholesome.     It  develops  thoughtfulness  and  care.     It 
draws  out  the  best  affections.     Bring  a  stool,  and  put  it 
under  those  trembling  feet.     Place  a  cushion  behind  that 
feeble  back.     Speak  a  little  louder  to  those  ears  that  are  now 
hard  of  hearing.    I  am  glad  all  the  patriarchs  in  this  church 
don't  keep  a.vay  when  I  am  going  to  address  young  men, 


134 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


True  to  the  Religion  of  Ones  Fathers. 


135 


for  I  think  the  sight  of  them  does  us  good.  Oh,  a  happy 
old  Christian  is  a  perpetual  sermon.  Dr.  Guthrie,  when 
nearly  seventy,  stood  up  in  a  meeting  and  said,  "Don't 
call  me  an  old  man,  for  I  feel  as  young  as  ever  I  did."  I 
know  I  touch  a  tender  chord  in  the  hearts  of  some  of  you 
to-night,  as  I  bring  upon  you  memories  of  the  frail  and 
wrinkled,  but  dear  and  bonnie  old  man  whom  you  call 
grandfather.  If  he  still  lives,  God  bless  him  !  May  the 
last  steps  of  his  journey  be  smooth,  and  his  departure  to 
a  better  world  be  happy  and  bright  I 

In  the  chapter  we  read  this  evening,  we  find  old  Jacob 
very  feeble  with  age.  Limbs  tottering,  eyesight  dim, 
memory  failing,  speech  almost  gone.  And  yet  his  memory 
was  fresh  enough  to  recall  the  way  by  which  the  Lord  had 
led  him,  and  the  mercies  He  had  showered  upon  his  path  ; 
and  his  voice  was  strong  enough  to  express  the  wish  that 
the  God  who  had  been  so  kind  and  faithful  to  him,  would 
be  equally  good  to  those  two  dear  lads,  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh.  I  am  interested  to  think  that  the  age  of  these 
young  men  was,  as  nearly  as  I  can  guess,  just  about  the 
average  age  of  those  whom  I  see  in  such  goodly  numbers 
here  to-night.  Ephraim,  the  younger,  was  twenty-one;  and 
there  was  just  a  year  between  them.  Most  important  stage 
of  life  :  turning-point  of  many  a  man's  whole  history. 
With  the  sprightHness  of  youth,  there  blends  just  a  little 
of  the  seriousness  of  age ;  and  one  begins  to  think  gravely 
of  the  responsibilities  of  life,  and  to  choose;  the  path 
he  is  to  pursue.  Jacob  knew  this  well ;  and  therefore  I 
do  not  wonder  at  the  intense  fervour  of  the  old  man,  as 
he  invoked  Heaven's  blessing  on  his  two  grandsons. 

To  them  it  must  have  been  an  impressive  moment.  If 
any  of  you  have  received  the  benediction  of  a  dying  parent, 
I  venture  to  say,  you  will  never  forget  it.  How  time  flies  ! 
Distinctly  does  your  preacher  to-night  remember,  though 


M> 


many  long  years  have  gone  by,  how  solemn  was  the  im- 
pression made  upon  his  own  mind,  wh^n,  kneeling  by  his 
father's  dying  couch,  a  long  thin  hand,  wasted  by  consump- 
tion, was  laid  upon  his  head ;  and  in  the  laboured  whisper 
of  a  voice  almost  spent,  Jacob's  blessing  was  breathed  over 
him,  "  The  God  before  whom  my  fathers  did  walk,  the  God 
which  fed  me  all  my  life  long  unto  this  day,  the  Angel 
which  redeemed  me  from  all  evil,  bless  the  lad." 

You  will  not  wonder,  then,  that  this  is  a  marked  text 
in  my  Bible,  and  that  I  am  tempted  to  base  a  sermon  upon 
it  to-night. 

Well,  it  strikes  me  in  this  way.  The  God,  whose 
blessing  Jacob  invoked  upon  the  lads,  is  described  by 
him  in  a  threefold  manner  :  first,  as  his  ancestral  God, 
"  the  God  of  his  fathers,  Abraham  and  Isaac  " ;  secondly, 
as  the  God  of  Providence,  "  The  God  which  fed  me  all 
my  life  long  unto  this  day";  and  thirdly,  as  the  God  ot 
redeeming  grace,  "the  Angel  which  redeemed  me  from  all 
evil."  May  this  triple  benediction  rest  upon  every  lad 
who  is  listening  to  me  to-night,  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake. 
Amen. 

I.  It  is  the  blessing  of  our  ancestral  God.  Jacob  loved  to 
think,  that  the  Being  whom  he  worshipped  was  ''the  God 
of  his  fathers,  Abraham  and  Isaac."  No  greater  happiness 
could  he  wish  for  these  two  fine  youths,  Joseph's  sons, 
than  that  the  same  God  should  be  theirs. 

You  must  have  noticed  that,  in  the  religion  of  the  Bible, 
much  is  made  of  family  descent.  When  Jehovah  spake 
from  time  to  time  to  His  ancient  people,  there  was  no 
title  they  loved  so  much  to  hear  as  this,  "  The  Lord  God 
of  your  fathers."  And  when  Moses,  predicting  the  judg- 
ments that  should  come  upon  them  in  after  years,  imagined 
an  on-looker  inquiring,   "What  meaneth  the  heat  of  this 

0 

great  anger?"    he  supplied  beforehand   a   true  answer, 


136 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


"  Men  shall  say,  because  they  have  forsaken  the  covenant 

of  the  God  of  their  fathers."     There  was  no  man  who  was 

further  from  believing  that  "  grace  runs  in  the  blood,"  than 

was  St.  Paul;    and  yet  he  hardly  ever  looked    upon    his 

excellent  young  friend  Timothy,  without  calling  to    mind 

with  thankfulness  to  God,  that  good  old  lady,  Lois,  Timothy's 

grandmother,  and  Eunice,  his  mother,  whose  joint  influence 

had  proved  so  full  of  blessing.     Oh,  those  of  you  who  have 

been  blest  with  a  pious  parentage  have  much  to  be  thankful 

for.     The  purest  blood  in  the  world  is  that  of  a  Christian 

ancestry.     To    be    descended    from   princes  and  nobles  is 

nothing  to  it.     I  have  known  people  so  silly  as  to  glory 

in    the   fact   that   their  mother's    uncle's   second   cousin's 

first  wife's   half-brother  was  a  lord  !     Poor   fools  !    what 

good  it  did  them  I    The  true  aristocracy  is  the  aristocracy 

of  grace.     To  be  able  to  tell  of  a  father,  and  a  grandfather, 

and  a  great-grandfather,  who  were  all  men  of  God,  is  a 

higher  honour  than  to  be  able  to  claim  a  lineal  connection 

\/ith  the  House  of  Stuart,  or  Tudor,  or  Plantagenet.     There 

is    the    ring   of  a   true   Christian   manliness   in   Cowper's 

lines : — 

•*  My  boast  is  not  that  I  deduce  my  birth 

From  loins  enthroned,  the  rulers  of  the  earth  \ 
But,  higher  far  my  proud  pretensions  rise, 
The  son  of  parents  passed  into  the  skies." 

Perhaps  there  is  not  a  country  upon  earth  in  which  there 
are  so  large  a  number  of  persons  as  there  are  in  our  own, 
who  can  trace  their  lineage  back  through  generations  of 
Christian  faith  and  holy  living.  Whatever  your  own 
character  may  be,  many  of  you,  I  am  sure,  can  never 
think  of  your  early  home  without  feelings  of  profound 
respect  for  the  religion  which  made  the  dear  old  folks  so 
beautiful  in  character,' and  that  home  so  happy,  that  you 
can  only  think  of  it  as  the  gate  of  heaven.     I  don't  wonder 


True  to  the 'Religion  of  Ones  Fathers,   137 

at  that  drop  of  moisture  in  the  corner  of  your  eye,  as  you 
call  up  memories  of  that  humble  but  hallowed  dwelling. 
Though  grace  does  not  run  in  the  blood;  though  a  saint 
may  beget  a  prodigal ;  aye,  though  the  son  and  grandson 
of  a  Christian  may  turn  out  an  unmitigated  scamp ;  yet 
there  are  certainly  grooves  of  spiritual  blessing,  the  fruit 
and  reward  of  believing  prayer;  and  happy  those  who,  like 
Manasseh  and  Ephraim,  are  born  in  such  a  groove,  if  they 
remain  faithful  to  the  traditions  of  the  past.  Talk  of 
"apostolical  succession,"  that  figment  of  English  priestism  1 
— the  only  true  succession  is  that  of  a  line  of  saints.  These 
lads  could  look  back  to  three  generations  of  godly  men,  nay, 
to  four :  for  their  father  Joseph,  their  grandfather  Jacob, 
their  great  grandfather  Isaac,  and  their  great  great  grand- 
father Abraham,  all  were  men  of  God. 

I  have  known  persons  who  could  trace  yet  further  back  a 
saintly  genealogy.  Well,  perhaps  these  are  rare  cases,  but 
many  of  you  can  go  at  least  one  or  two  steps  back;  and  you 
will  permit  me  to-night  to  breathe  the  prayer,  that  the  God 
of  your  fathers  may  be  your  God.  The  vivid  memory  of  a 
pious  home  has  often  been  the  tether  that  has  held  a  man 
fast  to  truth  and  virtue,  when  strong  forces  of  temptation 
came  upon  him.  He  has  felt  that  he  dare  npt  break  off 
from  those  hallowed  traditions  of  his  early  days.  The 
very  chapters  that  his  father  used  to  delight  in,  the  psalms 
his  mother  used  to  repeat,  the  favourite  melodies  they  used 
all  to  sing  together : — 

•*  They  come  upon  the  mind  like  some  wild  ail 
Of  distant  music,  when  we  know  not  where 
Or  whence  the  sounds  are  brought  from ;  and  their  power, 
Though  brief,  is  boundless."  # 

I  can  call  to  mind  at  this  moment  that  grand  old  hymn  of 
Doddridge,  as  we  used  to  sing  it  to  "  Coleshill "  : — 


'!|i 


m 


138  7a//cs  with   Young  Men. 


**  O  God  of  Bethel,  by  whose  hand 
Thy  people  still  are  fed  ; 
Who  through  this  weary  pilgrimage 
Hast  all  our  fathers  led. 

•*  Our  vows,  our  prayers,  we  now  present 
Before  Thy  throne  of  grace  ; 
God  of  our  fathers,  be  the  God 
Of  their  succeeding  race." 

I  wish  the  choir  would  just  sing  to  us  those  two  verses. 
[The  choir  sung  the  above  lines  as  requested.]  Very 
beautiful  I  Now,  lads,  it  is  no  dishonour  to  a  young  man 
to  believe  in  the  religion  of  his  fathers.  That  pride  of 
intellect  which  makes  many  a  youth  imagine  himself  far 
ahead  of  his  ancestors,  is  a  very  weak  affection  of  the 
brain.  When  a  young  fellow  talks  disrespectfully  of  the 
''old  fogies"  (meaning  his  parents),  and  snaps  his  fingers 
at  the  instructions  they  used  to  give  him,  and  says  that, 
were  they  back  in  the  world,  he  would  teach  them  a  thing 
or  two,  you  may  be  pretty  sure  he  is  a  poor,  silly  creature, 
that  will  never  come  to  good.  What  is  that  which  the  old 
Book  says?  "The  eye  that  mocketh  at  his  father,  and. 
despiseth  to  obey  his  mother,  the  ravens  of  the  valley  shall 
pick  it  out,  and  the  young  eagles  shall  eat  it."  I  could  talk 
to  you  an  hour  on  this  subject,  but  I  won't;  I  only  say  this, 
you  who  have  come  of  a  good  stock,  see  that  you  keep  up  the 
noble  succession ;  and  you  who  have  learnt  no  good  in  your 
early  home,  remember  that,  like  king  Hezekiah,  even  the 
son  of  ungodly  parents  may  prove  a  child  of  grace,  and  a 
blessing  to  the  world  I 

II.  The  God  of  Providence  bless  jfcou.  "  The  God,"  says 
Jacob,  "which  fed  me  all  my  life  long,  unto  this  day." 
Oh  I  there  is  something  very  charming  in  the  spectacle  of 
a  serene,  contented,  and  thankful  old  age.  It  is  a  fine 
thing  to  see  a  white-headed  Christian  able  to  retrace  his 


True  to  the  Religion  of  Ones  Fathers,    139 

steps  through  the  wilderness,  and  testify  that  the  Lord  had 
supplied  all  his  wants.  Jacob's  had  been  a  strange  and 
chequered  career.  His  faith  had  often  been  sorely  tried. 
It  had  not  been  "  smooth  sailing  "  with  him.  At  times,  he 
had  been  in  the  deep  waters  of  trouble.  He  had  known 
what  it  was  to  have  "a  sore  famine  in  the  land."  The 
corn  had  failed,  and  the  barns  were  almost  empty.  But 
in  the  hour  of  need  the  Lord  had  interposed,  and  from  the 
unlikeliest  quarter  abundance  flowed  in.  There  are  old 
people  here,  who  have  got  just  as  good  a  tale  to  tell. 
I  daresay  I  shall  have  a  shake  of  the  hand  of  some  of  them 
to-night,  as  they  declare,  "  Jacob's  testimony  is  mine.  It  is 
all  true.     They  that  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  not  lack  any 

good  thing." 

A  bright  and  beaming  old  Christian  is  of  great  value. 
Such  a  testimony  is  worth  many  sermons.  Strange,  that 
some  people  are  so  unwilling  to  be  thought  old !  They 
persist  in  saying  they  are  fifty,  when  everybody  knows 
they  are  at  least  three-score.  They  call  themselves  sixty, 
when  they  are  seventy.  Queer  notion,  is  it  not,  to  try,  by 
dyes  and  cosmetics,  and  all  the  arts  of  the  apothecary,  to 
wipe  out  the  marks  of  age  ?  There  is  not  a  diadem  on 
monarch's  brow  more  beautiful  than  the  hoary  head,  when 
found  in  the  way  of  righteousness.  "  Ah  ! "  said  one,  to  an 
aged  Christian  friend  of  mine  the  other  day,  "you  are  on 
the  shady  side  of  seventy,  I  expect?"  "No,"  was  the 
reply,  "I  am  on  the  sunny  side;  for  I  am  on  the  side 
nearest  to  glory." 

Old  Jacob  wished  these  lads  to  know  that  the  blessing  he 
invoked  on  them  was  the  blessing  of  a  God  who  had  been 
faithful  to  him  in  temporals,  and  would  nefVer  allow  any 
who  put  their  trust  in  Him  to  be  in  want.  This  is  an 
important  principle  for  young  men  to  start  in  life  with. 
"  Trust  in  the  Lord,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be  fed."     Put  all 


•:3am 


140 


Ta//cs  with   Young  Men. 


your  business  matters  into  His  hand.     Are  you  in  want  of 
a  situation  ?     Do  you  wish  to  better  your  position  ?     Are 
you  at  present  in  difficulties  ?     Or,  have  you  been  meeting 
with  wonderful  success  ?     Acknowledge  Him  in  all.     I  do 
not  wish  to  say  a  hard  thing;  but  of  scores  of  lads  who 
come  to  me  in  distress,  pleading  for  help,  I  firmly  believe 
that  ninety  per  cent,  are  thoroughly  bad  fellows.     I  am 
afraid  you  would  laugh  were  I  to  tell  you  how  completely  I 
have  been  taken  in,  over  and  over  again,  by  genteel-looking 
young    men,   whose  stories   turned    out  afterwards    to    be 
parcels  of  lies  ?     But,  seriously,  I   have   not  met  with  a 
single  case  of  a  well-principled  and  Christian  man  who  has 
come  to  destitution.     I  have  been  young,  and  am  now  in 
middle  age,  and  I  have  never  seen  the  righteous  forsaken, 
never  I     Let  Jacob's  God  be  your  portion,  and  Jacob's  testi- 
mony will  be  your  experience.     As  I  often  say  to  persons 
who  come  to  me  in   their  dif^culties,  "Ah!   godliness  is 
profitable,  even  for  the  life  that  now  is.     If  you  had  made 
the  Lord  your  trust,  you  would  not  have  been  in  this  plight 
to-day."     I  hasten  to  the  last  point,  and  the  most  important 

of  all. 

IIL  The  God  of  Grace  bless  you.     ''The  Angel  which 
redeemed  me  from  all  evil."     Who,  think  you,  was  this 
Angel  ?     No  mere  finite  and  created  intelligence.     It  was 
none  other  than  the  Lord  Jesus.     As  Christ  said  of  Abra- 
ham, so  He  might  have  said  of  Jacob,*"  He  saw  My  day, 
and  was  glad."     I  am  not  making  a  guess.     That  the  Angel 
was  a  Divine  being,  is  clear  from  the  thirty-first  chapter, 
eleventh  verse,  where  Jacob  says,  "  And  the  Angel  of  God 
spake  unto   me  in  a  dream ; "    taken  with   the   thirteenth 
verse,  in  which  this  Angel  is  represented  as  saying,  "I  am 
the  God  of  Bethel,- where  thou  anointedst  the  pillar,  and 
where  thou  vowedst  a  vow  unto  Me."     He  was  God,  there- 
fore ;  and  yet,  taking  the  name  of  "  Angel,"  or  messenger, 


True  to  the'  Religion  of  Ones  Fathers.    141 

must  have  been  deputed  by  another  Person.  Clearly,  He 
was  the  Second  Person  of  the  adorable  Trinity,  "the 
Messenger  of  the  Covenant,"  as  Malachi  styles  Him. 

It  was  many  a  long  year  since  Jacob  had  made  acquaint- 
ance with  Him.  That  was  the  beginning  of' his  spiritual 
life.  He  often  referred  to  it  as  the  occasion  when  "the 
Lord  appeared  unto  him."  His  blessedness  dated  from 
that  day,  or  rather  from  that  night ;  for  you  remember  it 
was  in  the  darkness  of  the  midnight  hour,  and  in  the 
solitude  of  the  wilderness  of  Haran,  that  God  met  him. 
The  lonely  traveller  had  laid  him  down  to  sleep  in  the 
unsheltered  desert,  the  stones  of  the  place  serving  for  his 
pillow.  ■  It  was  a  memorable  night  for  Jacob.  He  saw  in 
vision  a  ladder  leading  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  obtained 
a  blessed  revelation  of  Jehovah  as  his  covenant  God.  He 
was  then,  comparatively,  a  young  man ;  but  so  deep  was 
the  impression  made  upon  his  mind,  that  he  rose  up  with 
the  morning  light,  and  made  a  solemn  and  entire  dedication 
of  himself  to  God. 

And .  now,  on  his  death-bed,  long,  long  years  after,  he 
recalls  that  memorable  occasion,  and  says,  "  God  Almighty 
appeared  unto  me,  and  blessed  me."  The  day  of  his  con- 
version was  the  day  when  his  blessedness  began. 

Ah,  my  dear  friends,  you  may  live  to  four-score  years ; 
but  if  you  know  any  real  happiness  within,  you  will  date 
it  from  the  hour  when  the  Angel  of  the  Covenant  revealed 
Himself  to  you — when  you  saw  a  ladder  of  communication 
between  earth  and  heaven,  and  when  in  solemn  vow  you 
gave  yourselves  to  God. 

I  am  not  saying  this  merely  because  it  is  the  right  thing 
to  say  it.  There  is  a  conscience  w^ithin  each  of  you  that 
echoes  what  I  say ;  and  certifies  to  the  truth,  that  without 
a  personal  share  in  Christ's  redemption,  you  are,  and  must 
remain,    unblest.       I    address   to   you    to-night    no   grand 


0 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


142 

rounded  sentences,  no  high-flying  periods,  no  elaborate 
arguments.  I  just  put  my  hand  on  your  shoulder,  and 
say,  My  dear  lad,  you  must  be  a  Christian  forthwith.  The 
Gospel  that  served  for  your  fathers  will  serve  for  you. 
The  Angel   that  redeemed   them  from  evil,  must  redeem 

you. 

I  suppose  that  old  "  Eddystone"  was  considered  one  of 
the  finest  lighthouses  in  the  world.    I  was  down  in  Devon- 
shire lately,  and  standing  on  a  cliff  from  which  there  was 
a  fine  view  of  the  sea,  I  said,  "What  is  that  tall  straight 
pillar,  about  fifteen  miles  off?"    "Oh,"  replied  the  coast- 
guard, "that  is  the  new  Eddystone  lighthouse;"    and  he 
handed  me  his  telescope,  that  I  might  see  it  more  clearly. 
The  old  one  was  deemed  insufficient  and  insecure.     What 
served  the  purpose  very  well  in  the  days  of  our  fathers 
will  not  do  for  us.     And  I  am  mistaken  if  this  is  not  the 
fourth   or  fifth    successive  erection  that    has  been    reared 
upon  that  dangerous  reef.     My  brothers,  there  are  some 
who  tell  you  that  the  religion  that  served  for  your  godly 
ancestors  will   not  do  for  you;    that  the  great  waves  of 
•    modern   criticism,  and  scientific   investigation,  and  evolu- 
tionism,  dashing   up    against   the  old   beacon-tower,   have 
loosened  its  foundations,  so  that  it  is  ready  to  fall  to  pieces. 
Do  not  believe  it.     Christ's  truth  stands  as  firmly  on  its 
rocky  basis  to-night  as  it  ever  did  in   the  past,  and  from 
its    high    lantern-tower    shines   out    upofi    the    dark  waste 
around.     If  any  of  you  have  been  beguiled,  by  the  mush- 
room philosophies  of  the  day,  into  giving  up  the  old  Evan- 
gelical beliefs,  I  invite  you  back  to  tlie  good  old-fashioned 
religion  of  your  sires,  to  the  God  whom  your  father  wor- 
shipped, to  the    Bible  which    your   mother   read,    to  the 
promises  on  which  they  leaned,  and  to  the  cross  on  which 
they   hung   their  eternal   expectations.     I  advise  you  not 
to  give  up  this  Book  until  you  can  put  a  better  in  its  place. 


^  1*^ 


'«i>i 


- 


True  to  the  Religion  of  Ones  Fathers,    143 

Make  the  Bible  the  man  of  your  counsel,  your  guiding-star 
through  life.  I  am  not  bidding  you  do  what  I  myself  have 
not  done.  There  have  been  times  (I  own  to  you)  when 
painful  doubts  have  startled  and  troubled  me  like  spectres 
from  the  land  of  darkness ;  when  I  have  begun  almost  to 
question  the  essential  verities  of  the  Christian  faith;  but, 
at  such  moments  of  trial,  it  has  been  to  me  a  wonderful 
inspiration  to  recall  the  day,  now  forty  years  ago,  when 
he  who  had  pronounced  upon  my- head  his  paternal  bene- 
diction, testified  that  this  Book  was  enough  for  him  at  the 
gate  of  eternity,  and  when,  within  a  few  hours  of  death, 
he  wrote,  with  clear,  bold  penmanship,  upon  this  pocket- 
Bible  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  these  lines  he  had  himself 
composed,  and  with  which  I  close — 

**  Stand  still,  and  see,  my  waking  soul, 
How  near  the  waves  of  Jordan  roll  I 
The  weary  wilderness  is  past, 
And  thou  hast  reached  its  verge  at  last, 

•*  And  now,  my  anxious  eyes  explore 
The  verdant  banks  of  Canaan's  shore  : 
That  land,  by  God's  best  blessing  blest, 
Where  Israel's  pilgrims  ever  rest. 

••  There,  washed  all  o'er  in  Jesus'  blood,  - 
As  Naaman  was  in  Jordan's  flood, 
May  this  sick,  sin-polluted  soul 
Be  made,  like  him,  both  clean  and  whole, 

•*  Now  let  me  plunge  beneath  the  tide, 
Safely  emerge  on  yonder  side  : 
And  thus  exchange  earth's  poor  alloy 
For  an  eternity  of  joy  1  '* 

Amen. 


'is 


142 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


m 


\% 


rounded  sentences,  no  high-flying  periods,  no  elaborate 
arguments.  I  just  put  my  hand  on  your  shoulder,  and 
say,  My  dear  lad,  you  must  be  a  Christian  forthwith.  The 
Gospel  that  served  for  your  fathers  will  serve  for  you. 
The  Angel  that  redeemed  them  from  evil,  must  redeem 
you. 

I  suppose  that  old  "Eddystone"  was  considered  one  of 
the  finest  lighthouses  in  the  world.    I  was  down  in  Devon- 
shire lately,  and  standing  on  a  cliff  from  which  there  was 
a  fine  view  of  the  sea,  I  said,  "  What  is  that  tall  straight 
pillar,  about  fifteen  miles  off?"    "Oh,"  replied  the  coast- 
guard, "that  is  the  new  Eddystone  lighthouse;"    and  he 
handed  me  his  telescope,  that  I  might  see  it  more  clearly. 
The  old  one  was  deemed  insufficient  and  insecure.     What 
served  the  purpose  very  well  in  the  days  of  our  fathers 
will  not  do  for  us.     And  I  am  mistaken  if  this  is  not  the 
fourth   or  fifth    successive  erection  that   has  been    reared 
upon  that  dangerous  reef.     My  brothers,  there  are  some 
who  tell  you  that  the  religion  that  served  for  your  godly 
ancestors  will    not  do  for   you;    that  the  great  waves  of 
modern   criticism,  and  scientific   investigation,  and  evolu- 
tionism, dashing   up    against   the  old  beacon-tower,   have 
loosened  its  foundations,  so  that  it  is  ready  to  fall  to  pieces. 
Do  not  believe  it.     Christ's  truth  stands  as  firmly  on  its 
.    rocky  basis  to-night  as  it  ever  did  in   the  past,  and  from 
its   high    lantern-tower   shines  out   upon    the    dark  waste 
around.     If  any  of  you  have  been  beguiled,  by  the  mush- 
room philosophies  of  the  day,  into  giving  up  the  old  Evan- 
gelical beliefs,  I  invite  you  back  to  tlie  good  old-fashioned 
religion  of  your  sires,  to  the  God  whoni  your  father  wor- 
shipped,  to  the    Bible  which    your   mother   read,    to  the 
promises  on  which  they  leaned,  and  to  the  cross  on  which 
they   hung   their  eternal   expectations.     I  advise  you  not 
to  give  up  this  Book  until  you  can  put  a  better  in  its  place. 


^J^ 


., 


True  to  the  Religion  of  Ones  Fathers,    143 

Make  the  Bible  the  man  of  your  counsel,  your  guiding-star 
through  life.  I  am  not  bidding  you  do  what  I  myself  have 
not  done.  There  have  been  times  (I  own  to  you)  when 
painful  doubts  have  startled  and  troubled  me  like  spectres 
from  the  land  of  darkness ;  when  I  have  begun  almost  to 
question  the  essential  verities  of  the  Christian  faith ;  but, 
at  such  moments  of  trial,  it  has  been  to  me  a  wonderful 
inspiration  to  recall  the  day,  now  forty  years  ago,  when 
he  who  had  pronounced  upon  my  head  his  paternal  bene- 
diction, testified  that  this  Book  was  enough  for  him  at  the 
gate  of  eternity,  and  when,  within  a  few  hours  of  death, 
he  wrote,  with  clear,  bold  penmanship,  upon  this  pocket- 
Bible  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  these  lines  he  had  himself 
composed,  and  with  which  I  close — 

**  Stand  still,  and'see,  my  waking  soul, 
How  near  the  waves  of  Jordan  roll  I 
The  weary  wilderness  is  past, 
And  thou  hast  reached  its  verge  at  last, 

•*  And  now,  my  anxious  eyes  explore 
The  verdant  banks  of  Canaan's  shore : 
That  land,  by  God's  best  blessing  blest, 
Where  Israel's  pilgrims  ever  rest. 

•*  There,  washed  all  o'er  in  Jesus*  blood, 
As  Naaman  was  in  Jordan's  flood, 
May  this  sick,  sin-polluted  soul 
Be  made,  like  him,  both  clean  and  whole, 

**  Now  let  me  plunge  beneath  the  tide, 
Safely  emerge  on  yonder  side  : 
And  thus  exchange  earth's  poor  alloy 
For  an  eternity  of  joy  1  '* 

Amen, 


k 


IP 


m'* 


t 


1^ 


I 


«t 


How  much  then  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep  ?  " — Matt.  xii.  12. 


■  ■' 


\- 


\ 


i. 


XL 

BETTER   TffA.V  A  SHEEP. 

THERE  are  few  things   in  our  Lord's  teaching  niore 
interesting  to  notice  than  the  enormous  value  which 
He  puts  upon  man.     Again  and  again  He  «nimds  us,  as 
though  we  were  ready  to  forget  it,  of  the  glory  and  d^n.ty 
of  our  being.     At  one  time,  pointing  to  the  care  -^-h  ^od 
bestows  upon  the  birds  Qf  the  air,  "  one  of  which  shall  not 
fall  to  the  ground  without  His  knowledge,"  He  exclaims 
"How  much  more  are  ye  better  than  the  fowls!      and 
at  another  time,  putting  the  whole  world,  as  it  were,  m 
one  scale  of  a  balance,  and  a  human  soul  in  the  other  He 
declares  that  the  latter  is  infinitely  the  more  valuable  of  the 
two      "Doth   God   take  care   for  oxen?"   inquires  Paul, 
when  referring  to  an  old  Mosaic  law,  enjoining  kindness  to 
the  cattle  when  treading  out  the  corn.     He  does  take  care 
for  oxen,  and  requires  of  us  to  take  care  for  them,  too,  and  ^ 
to  show  all  mercifulness  toward  the  dumb  animals.     The 
last  four  words  in  the  prophecy  of  Jonah  are  a  text  from 
which  many  a  sermon  might  be  preached  on  k-dness  to 
the  brute  creation.      You   remember  the   prophet   sulked 
because  God  repented  of  the  judgments  He  threatened  to 
bring  upon  Nineveh,  and  so  Jonah's  prediction  would  not 
turn  out  to  be  fulfilled  ;  but  Jehovah  thus  appealed  to  what- 
ever humanity  he  possessed:  "Shall  not  I  spare  Nineveh 
that  great  city,  wherein  are  more  than  six  -°-  *--"J 
persons,  that  cannot  discern  between  their  nght  hand  and 


\  i 


148 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


Better  than  a  Sheep. 


149 


their  left ;  and  also  much  cattle  ?  "  "  Doth  God  take  care  for 
oxen  ?  "  Yes,  He  does ;  but  infinitely  greater  is  the  care,  as 
Paul  argues,  which  He  exercises  over  man.  David  got  hold 
of  this  thought  when  he  penned  the  Eighth  Psalm,  and 
wrote :  "  Thou  hast  crowned  man  with  glory  and  honour, 
and  hast  set  him  over  the  works  of  Thy  hands ;  Thou  hast 
put  all  things  under  his  feet;  all  sheep  and  oxen,  yea,  and 
the  beasts  of  the  field,  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  the  fish  of 
the  sea." 

Man,  then,  is,  in  so  far  as  the  universe  is  known  to  us, 
the  greatest  work  of  God — the  grandest  achievement  of 
creative  skill.  You  remember  the  word  which  the  im- 
mortal Shakespeare  puts  into  the  lips  of  Hamlet — "  What 
a  piece  of  work  is  man  I  How  noble  in  reason  1  how 
infinite  in  faculties !  in  form  and  moving,  how  express  and 
admirable !  in  action,  how  like  an  angel  I  in  apprehension, 
how  lilce  a  god  !  the  beauty  of  the  world  !  the  paragon 
of  animals  I "  "  How  much,  then,  is  a  man  better  than  a 
sheep  ?  " 

You  will  not  grudge  half  an  hour  for  meditation  on  this 
subject — a  subject  which  young  men  should  often  reflect 
upon,  that  they  may  be  stirred  to  walk  worthy  of  their 
vocation.  I  am  going  to  suggest  to  you  a  series  of  points 
in  respect  of  which  a  man  is  better  than  a  sheep. 
•  I  might  mention,  first  of  all,  even  his  physical  form  and 
beauty.  The  human  body  is — so  far  as  our  knowledge  of 
creation  extends — by  far  the  most  exquisite  and  beautiful 
organization  that  has  come  from  Jehovah's  hand.  "  I 
am  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made,"  said. the  thoughtful 
Psalmist ;  and,  as  physiological  science  progresses,  we  can 
more  and  more  understand  the  force  of  the  observation 
of  the  celebrated  Galen,  when  he  challenged  any  one,  after 
the  study  of  one  hundred  years,  to  find  out  the  smallest 
bone  or  fibre  of  the  human  frame  that  might  be  more  com- 


!| 


modiously  placed,  either  for  practical  use  or  for  comeliness 

of  form. 

If  an  undevout  astronomer  is  mad,  an  undevout  phy- 
siologist is  still  madder.  Well  does  the  inspired  Apostle 
liken  man's  body  to  a  stately  temple,  well-proportioned, 
and  perfect  in  all  its  parts.  Why,  even  the  human  hand 
is  a  marvel  of  ingenious  workmanship,  and  is  of  itself 
sufficient  to  suggest  the  nobleness  of  the  creature  to  whom 
such  an  organ  has  been  given.  Volumes  have  been  written 
on  the  hand ;  nor  is  the  subject  exhausted  yet.  Wonderful 
instrument  I  With  it  you  express  the  warmth  of  your  affec- 
tion ;  with  it  you  can  tear  down  the  forests,  and  tunnel  the 
mountains,  and  climb  the  rocks,  and  handle  the  sword,  and 
wield  the  sceptre;  with  it  you  can  write,  and  draw,  and 
grave,  and  carve;  witH  it,  from  piano  or  violin,  you  can 
bring  forth  sweetest  music;  and  by  the  motions  of  the 
fingers  you  can  express  almost  every  conceivable  senti- 
ment. Holding  the  crank  of  the  steam-engine,  the  hand 
keeps  it  under  control ;  grasping  the  ship's  rudder,  it 
determines  its  track  over  the  watery  main;  applying  the 
fuse  to  the  cannon,  it  can  create  a  thunder  which  shakes 
both  earth  and  sky  :  and  yet,  with  a  touch  most  delicate 
and  sensitive,  it  can  feel  the  pulse  of  a  sick  child,  or  remove 
a  microscopic  mote  from  the  eye ! 

1  might  go  on  at  any  length  expatiating  on  the  perfectness 
of  the  human  form,  but  I  feel  it  is  unnecessary :  for,  in  a 
thousand  ways,  it  excels  that  of  the  lower  creation,  and 
proclaims  that  man  is  better  and  nobler  than  they.  The 
ox  may  indeed  surpass  him  in  strength,  and  the  horse  in 
speed,  and  the  greyhound  in  agility,  and  the  eagle  in 
keenness  of  vision,  and  the  hare  in  quickness  of  hearing; 
but,  taking  his  body  as  a  whole,  with  all  its  capacities 
and  powers,  it  surpasses  every  other  of  which  we  know 
anything. 


ISO 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


Better  than  a  Sheep. 


151 


jj 


\ 


Are  you,  then,  going  to  take  that  noble  and  beautiful 
form,  and  make  it  the  instrument  of  sin  ?  Are  you  going 
to  desecrate  a  temple  so  fair  ?  By  self-indulgence,  are  you 
going  to  mar  its  beauty,  and  hasten  its  decay  ?  I  trust  not : 
and  yet,  alas !  this  is  just  what  many  are  doing,  bringing 
themselves  down  to  the  level  of  the  brutes  that  perish,  and 
turning  their  glory  into  shame.  "Like  sheep  they  are  laid 
in  the  grave ;  death  shall  feed*  on  them ;  and  the  upright 
shall  have  dominion  over  them  in  the  morning"  of  the 
resurrection. 

Secondly,  a  man  is  better  than  a  sheep,  because  he  is 
endowed  with  reason.  The  true  glory  of  man  consists  not  in 
the  speed  with  which  he  can  run,  nor  the  number  of  pounds' 
weight  he  can  lift,  nor  the  strong  wrestlers  he  can  throw  ; 
for  in  these  respects  even  the  ostrich,  and  the  ass,  and  the 
lion  easily  outmatch  him.  Young  men  who  devote  them- 
selves to  physical  sports — I  mean  who  give  their  main 
time,  and  ardour,  and  attention  to  such  things — are  rarely  . 
a  high  type  of  humanity.  A  strong  muscle  and  an  acute 
brain  do  not  always  go  together.  A  powerful  physique  is 
not  unfrequently  united  with  a  feeble  mind. 

And  yet,  what  compensation  intellect  provides!  The 
express  train  leaves  the  swiftest  greyhound  far  behind. 
The  steam  crane  and  hydraulic  press  laugh  at  all  the 
strength  of  bullock  or  horse,  and  swing  an  elephant  through 
the  air  as  though  it  were  a  feather !  There  is  no  point  in 
respect  to  which  the  brute  excels  us,  where  rejison  does  not 
enable  us  far  to  excel  the  brute. 

'*  How  much  is  a  man  better  than  a  shee-p,"  when  you 
think  of  the  mines  of  literature  he  can  explore,  of  the 
treasures  of  science  he  can  penetrate,  and  of  the  wonders 
of  creation  he  can  unfold  ?  What  a  noble  heritage  is  his, 
with  the  mental  gifts  the  Creator  has  bestowed  upon  him, 
to  traverse  all  the  ages  that  are  past,  to  hold  converse  with 


the  great  and  good  who  have  lived  before  him,  and  to  hand 
down  memorials* of  his  own  industry  to  the  generations 
yet  to  come  I  The  man  who  leaves  his  mind  fallow,  who 
does  not  call  into  vigorous  exercise  the  reasoning  powers 
with  which  he  is  endowed,  fails  to  realize  his  distinguished 
place  in  creation,  and  brings  himself  down  to  the  level  of 
the  cattle  in  the  field. 

*'  For  what  is  man, 
If  his  chief  good  and  market  of  his  time 
Be  but  to  sleep  and  feed  ?  a  beast,  no  more. 
Sure,  He  that  made  us  with  such  large  discourse^ 
Looking  before  and  after,  gave  us  not 
That  capability  and  godlike  reason, 
To  fust  in  us  unused." 

I  should  fail  in  refletting  all  the  truth  which  Christ 
uttered  in  our  text,  did  I  not  urge  you  to  a  due  cultivation 
of  your  intellectual  faculties ;  nor  am  I  over-steppmg  the 
rightful  province  of  the  pulpit,  when  I  say  to  you, — be 
your  social  position  and  your  daily  emplo}^  what  they 
may,  try  to  have  your  minds  well  stored ;  and  remember, 
that  your  reasoning  and  thinking  powers,  to  be  fully  deve- 
loped, must  be  constantly  exercised. 

"There  is  a  firefly  in  the  southern  clime 
That  shineth  only  when  upon  the  wing ; 
So  is  it  with  the  mind ;  when  once  we  rest,  we  darken." 

Thirdly,  a  man  is  better  than  a  sheep,  because  he  is 
endowed  with  a  moral  nature.  He  is  an  accountable  and 
responsible  being.  Even  the  fact  that  he  has  it  in  his 
power  to  do  wrong  proclaims  his  exalted  place  in  creation. 
A  sheep  cannot  sin  ;  but  that  is  not  because  it  is  a  superior, 
but  because  it  is  an  inferior  creature  to  us.  It  is  incapable 
of  distinguishing  moral  qualities,  of  knowing  right  from 
wrong ;  and  therefore,  it  has  neither  character  nor  respon- 
sibility.    Man,  small  and  feeble  and  puny 'as  he  is,  can 


152 


Talks  with  Youn^  Men, 


ill 


insult  the  majesty  of  Heaven  as  truly  as  an  archangel ;  he 
can  defy  the  authority  of  God ;  he  can  grieve  the  Spirit 
of  the  Most  High.  Ay,  but  what  is  this  but  saying,  that 
he  can  glorify  God  as  none  of  the  lower  creatures  can  do ; 
yea,  can  yield  Him  pleasure  and  delight.  This  inward 
conscience,  this  moral  faculty,  lifts  him  up  immeasurably 
above  the  brute,  and  even  allies  him  with  Deity.  "  Let 
us  make  man  in  our  image,"  said  the  Three-one  God.  He 
never  said  that  of  any  other  of  the  terrestrial  creatures 
which  He  formed.  As  a  moral  being,  man  is  an  object  of 
Divine  affection  and  regard.  The  Almighty  cannot  love  an 
ox  or  a  sheep,  but  He  can  love  you ;  and — insignificant 
object  though  you  may  seem  to  be— He  does  love  you. 
Were  you  a  mere  body,  or  were  you  mere  body  and  mind, 
you  could  not  be  an  object  of  this  love.  Intellect,  like  ice, 
is  colourless ;  no  one  has  more  of  it  than  the  devil.  It  is 
the  moral  sense  that  imparts  character,  and  you  must  have 
character,  if  either  God  or  man  is  to  love  you.  Well  does 
the  poet  Young  say — 

**  How  poor,  how  rich,  how  abject,  how  august. 
How  complicate,  how  wonderful  is  man  I 
Distinguish'd  link  in  being's  endless  chain  | 
Midway  from  nothing  to  the  Deity  1 
Dim  miniature  of  greatness  absolute  ! 
An  heir  of  glory  I    A  frail  child  of  dust  I 
Helpless  immortal !    Insect  infinite  I 
A  worm  I    A  god  1 " 

Fourthly,  how  much  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep,  when 
you  consider  his  capacity  of  progress?  In  this  respect  he 
stands  alone  in  creation,  so  far  as  it  presents  itself  in  our 
view.  To  him  only  is  it  given  to  advance,  to  grow,  as  the 
ages  roll  on.  Yonder  sun  shines  no  brighter  to-day  than 
it  did  on  Adam;  the  birds  are  not  more  skilful  in  their 
music  than  when  they  filled  the  bowers  of  Eden  with  song. 


Better  than  a  Sheep. 


153 


\ 


+ 


The  bees  make  no  better  honey  than  when  David  found 
the  sweet  comb  in  the  carcase  of  the  lion;  nor  do  the 
flowers  yield  richer  fragrance  than  when  they  perfumed 
the  palace  chambers  of  King  Solomon  at  Jerusalem.  What 
the  sheep  and  cattle  were  in  the  days  when  the  sweet 
singer  of  Israel  tended  them  on  the  plains  of  Bethlehem, 
they  are  still ;  no  advance,  no  progress. 

How  different  with  man  !  Look  at  him  socially ;  see  the 
growth  of  civilization ;  mark  the  development  of  art  and 
science,  and  of  all  that  tends  to  diminish  labour,  alleviate 
suffering,  and  increase  the  comforts  of  life.  Compare 
Britain  of  to-day  with  what  it  was.when  Caesar  landed  on 
our  shores  I  Look  at  the  ten  thousand  advantages  we  enjoy, 
many  of  which  even  our  fathers  of  the  last  generation  knew 

nothing  of. 

And  this  law  of  progress  is  visible  not  merely  in  the 
race,  but  in  the  individual.  In  the  case  of  the  full-grown 
sheep,  years  add  nothing  to  its  intelligence  or  development : 
but  man  is,  or  at  least  is  presumed  to  be,  every  day  enlarg- 
ing his  stores  of  knowledge,  maturing  his  mental  •  powers, 
and  becoming  better  qualified  for  fulfilling  his  part  in  life. 
Oh,  see  to  it,  young  men,  that  you  give  evidence  of  this 
distinctive  pre-eminence  over  the  brutes;  that  you  are 
growing  in  all  the  elements  of  a  true  manhood ;  that  you 

are  so  living, 

•*  That  each  to-morrow 
Finds  you  further  than  to-day." 

Fifthly,  how  much  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep,  in 
respect  to  his  spiritual  nature  and  his  capacity  for  knowing 
God?  Here  the  line  that  divides  us  from  the  lower 
animals  is  deep  and  broad.  I  have  spoken  of  reason  and 
of  conscience ;  but  even  of  both  of  these  there  have  been 
some  remarkable  instances  amongst  the  brutes.  Not  only 
do  some  of  them  betray  a  surprising  intelligence,  but  they 


154 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


give   indications  of  something   approaching  a  moral  con- 
sciousness, and  a  sense  of  right  and  wrong. 

But,  unlike  every  one  of  them,  man  is  a  religious  being. 
Both  Cicero  and  Plutarch  observed,  that  up  to  their  time, 
not  a  single  people  was  known  upon  earth  amongst  whom 
the  traces  of  some  religion  were  not  to  be  found.  The 
record  in  Genesis  tells  us,  that  when  the  Lord  God  formed 
man,  and  breathed  into  him  the  breath  of  life,  he  ''  became 
a  living  soul."  He  did  not  merely  possess  a  soul,  as 
Coleridge  remarks,  but  becamt  it  The  soul— the  spiritual 
nature — was  his  truest  self. 

The  brutes  cannot  know  their  Maker.  They  cannot  pray. 
They  cannot  adore.  They  cannot  worship.  The  belief  in 
the  infinite,  thoughts  that  wander  through  eternity,  they 
know  none  of  these.  This  is  the  glorious  prerogative  of 
man.  The  atheist,  therefore,  the  scoffer,  the  irreligious, 
degrade  themselves  below  the  level  of  their  creation ;  and 
denying  the  spiritual  element  in  them,  disentitle  themselves, 
to  the  name  of  men ;  ''  For,"  as  Tennyson  says, — 

•'  What  are  men  better  than  sheep  or  goats, 
That  nourish  a  blind  life  within  the  brain, 
If  knowing  God,  they  lift  not  hands  of  prayer, 
Both  for  themselves  and  those  who  call  them  friends  ?  " 

•Is  there  one  here  who  says,  "  I  can  do  very  well  without 
religion "  ?  then  you  confess  yourself  something  less  than 
man.  The  crown  has  fallen  from  your  head;  and  Ichabod 
is  written  across  your  brow,  for  the  glory  has  indeed 
departed. 

Sixthly,  how  much  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep,  because 
he  is  possessed  of  immortality.  The  dumb  creatures  of  the 
meadow  live  their  little  life  and  die,  and  there  is  an  end  to 
them ;  but  man  has  an  existence  that  knows  no  end.  How 
touchingly  did  even  the  ancient  heathen  signify  their  con- 
viction   that   there  is  a   great   future   beyond    the  grave; 


Better  than  a  Sheep, 


155 


sometimes  causing  a  lamp  to  burn  continuously  in  the 
sepulchres  of  their  departed ;  and  at  other  times  heaping 
fresh  garlands  of  immortelles  upon  the  tombs  !  Even  in 
the  midst  of  degrading  superstitions,  they  would  give  un- 
mistakable expression  to  their  hope  of  another  life;  as 
when  the  Greek  mourner,  bending  over  the  dead  as  he  lay 
ready  for  burial,  would  force  a  coin  between  the  pallid  lips 
— that  coin  to  be  the  passage-money  for  the  grim  ferryman 
who  was  to  row  the  spirit  across  the  Stygian  river ! 

If  any  of  you  ever  know  what  it  is  to  have  dark  moments, 
when  every  star  of  future  hope  has  set,  and  you  are  tempted 
to  doubt  your  immortality,  think  how,  even  amid  the  ignor- 
ance of  paganism,  this  truth,  that  man  shall  live  for  ever, 
has  asserted  itself,  and  demanded  assent ;  think  how  even 
a  Plato  and  Cicero,  with  no  revelation  to  guide  them,  dis- 
coursed in  glowing  periods  on  the  immortality  of  the  soul ; 
but,  above  all,  see  how  in  this  Book  of  Divine  inspiration 
the  dark  shadows  are  dissolved,  and  how  our  once  dead 
but  now  ever-living  Redeemer  *'  hath  brought  life  and 
immortality  to  light "  by  His  Gospel. 

Oh,  be  your  fortune  ever  so  bright,  it  is  put  a  poor  thing 
at  the  best  to  live  only  for  this  brief  existence  here.  As 
Cowper  writes — 

•*  He  is  the  happy  man,  whose  life  even  now 
Shows  something  of  that  happier  life  to  come  ; 
Who,  doomed  to  an  obscure  and  tranquil  state, 
Is  pleased  with  it,  and  were  he  free  to  choose, 
Would  make  his  fate  his  choice  ;  whom  peace,  the  fruit 
Of  virtue,  and  whom  virtue,  fruit  of  faith. 
Prepare  for  happiness  ;  bespeak  him  one 
•Content  indeed  to  sojourn  while  he  must 
Below  the  skies,  but  having  there  his  home.  ' 

In  the  seventh  and  last  place,  I  crown  the  edifice  of  my 
argument,  as  to  man's  superiority  over  the  beasts  of  the 
field,  by  reminding  you  that  Christ  died  for  him.     The  very 


156 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


words — so  familiar  are  they  to  your  ears-  sound  common* 
place;  yet  I  am  persuaded  there  are  but  few  of  us  that 
grasp  their  real  meaning — that  see,  in  the  sacrificial  death 
of  Christ,  the  tremendous  value  God  had  put  upon  man. 
In  daily  life,  you  estimate  an  object  by  the  price  men  are 
willing  to  pay  for  it;  but,  when  the  price  voluntarily  offered 
is  one  beside  which  all  the  silver  and  gold  of  the  earth  are 
held  to  be  but  corruptible  and  contemptible  things,  who 
shall  tell  the  worth  of  the  object  redeemed  ?  He  who  made 
man,  and  stamped  His  own  image  on  him,  giving  him  not 
only  an  exquisite  physical  form,  but  a  reason,  a  conscience, 
a  spiritual  faculty,  a  capacity  for  progress,  and  a  deathless 
immortality,  deemed  him  worth  an  infinite  sacrifice,  and 
spared  not  His  own  Son  for  his  redemption. 

How  many  of  you  have  availed  yourselves  of  this  glorious 
remedy?  How  many  of  you,  awakened  to  a  sense  of  your 
own  priceless  value,  have  put  yourselves  into  the  hands  of 
the  omnipotent  Saviour  ? 

Truth  to  tell,  there  are  hundreds  around  and  in  the  midst 
of  us  who  put  no  value  on  themselves,  who  are  treading 
their  glory  in  the  dust,  and  sinking  to  the  level,  aye,  beneath 
the  level,  of  the  beasts  that  perish. 

"  Better  than  a  sheep ! "  Alas,  alas  I  I  have  known 
instances  in  which  the  degradation  has  been  such,  that 
one  has  rather  been  forced  to  exclaim,  "  How  much  is 
such  a  man  worse  than  a  sheep  1 "  For>  where  the  passions 
have  been  unchecked,  the  lower  appetites  freely  indulged, 
the  intellect  untutored,  the  conscience  defied,  the  spiritual 
nature  ignored,  and  God  and  eternity  forgotten,  say,  has 
not  the  descent  been  so  terrible  as  to  bring  the  men  down 
to  a  lower  level  than  the  beasts  of  the  field  ? 

Dear  brothers,  I  want  you  to  put  an  enormous  value 
upon  yourselves.  God  has  formed  you  for  a  glorious 
destiny.     You   have  powers  too  noble  to   waste  them  on 


Better  than  a  Sheep, 


157 


frivolities,  on  the  pleasures  of  a  moment,  or  even  on  the 
acquisition  of  gain.  Made  to  hold  fellowship  with  angels 
and  archangels,  yea,  to  hold  converse  with  God  Himself, 
are  you  content  to  live  a  mere  bestial  life,  and  crawl  amid 
the  dust  and  offal  of  this  world  ?  Destined  to  be  a  glorified 
spirit,  are  you  satisfied  to  be  no  better  than  a  sheep  ?  I 
feel  this  is  a  solemn  moment.  I  am  looking  into  some  faces 
I  shall  never  see  again.  Some  who  heard  me  here  a  month 
ago  are  off  and  away,  God  only  knows  where.  Some  who 
were  impressed  that  night  have  yielded  to  temptation, 
and — sucked  into  the  vortex  of  vice — are  whirling  down  to 
hopeless  ruin.  I  speak  of  cases  that  I  know.  Many  a  hard 
battle  has  been  fought  in  this  church — there,  just  in  these 
pews— deep  within  the  breast.  A  battle  between  the  flesh 
and  the  spirit ;  between  lust  and  principles ;  between  the 
devil  and  God.  In  some  cases  the  battle  has  been  lost ;  in 
others,  won.  Which  shall  it  be  to-night  ?  Two  influences 
are  upon  you;  two  forces  are  pulling  you.  Are  you  to 
yield  to  the  nether  force,  sinking  down  till  you  become  no 
better  than  a  sheep?  or,  drawn  upward  by  Divine  grace, 
are  you  to  rise,  until,  higher  than  the  angels  themselves, 
with  the  crown  of  immortality  on  your  brow,  you  sit  with 
Christ  upon  His  throne  in  glory  ? 


HUNGRY  STUDENTS;  OR,  DEATH 
FN  THE  POT. 


I 


I* 


*Oth<m  man  of  Ccd,  there  is  death  in  the  pot  /**— 2  Kings  iv.  4C 


J 


xn. 

HUNGRY  STUDENTS;  OR,  DEATH  IN  THE  POT, 

STUDENTS,  as  a  rule,  are  rather  an  obstreperous  class. 
They  have  always  been  so.  Alike  in  the  departments 
of  law,  medicine,  and  theology,  they  are  often  reckless  and 
high-spirited.  They  are  apt  to  get  into  scrapes.  Their  fun 
is  of  a  somewhat  serious  .order.  They  are  a  source  of 
trouble  to  the  authorities.  I  don't  care  whether  you  go  to 
the  Sorbonne  at  Paris,  or  to  the  University  of  St.  Petersburg, 
or  to  the  seats  of  learning  at  Edinburgh  or  Aberdeen,  you 
are  almost  certain  to  find  young  men  who  are  bent  on 
frolic,  and  are  up  to  all  kinds  of  mischief.  No  doubt  there 
is  much  that  is  noble  and  generous  in  their  character,  so 
that  we  are  ready  to  pardon  some  of  their  pranks  and 
follies ;  but,  occasionally,  their  impetuousness  carries  them 
off  their  heads  altogether,  and  they  want  a  firm  hand  to 
deal  with  them. 

I  think  that  if,  for  ''  sons  of  the  prophets "  you  read 
"  students,"  in  these  early  chapters  of  the  Second  Book 
of  Kings,  you  will  not  be  far  amiss ;  and  you  must  acknow- 
ledge that  those  young  men  gave  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to 
the  excellent  prophet  Elisha.  There  seem  to  have  been 
in  those  times,  in  Palestine,  several  colleges,  or  schools  of 
instruction,  where  the  young  men  were  educated  in  the 
judicial  and  religious  system  of  Moses.  There  was  one 
at  Bethel,  another  at  Naioth,  a  third  at  Jericho,  and  per- 
haps a  fourth  at  Gilgal ;  and  at  all  these  placed  Elisha  was 

II 


l62 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


a  frequent  visitor.  I  don't  know  how  it  was,  but  the 
students  seemed  to  find  a  special  pleasure  in  worrying 
him.  Before  the  venerable  Elijah  had  been  wafted  off  to 
heaven,  they  gathered  round  Elisha,  and  said,  '*Knowest 
thou  that  the  Lord  will  take  away  thy  master  from  thy 
head  to-day  ? "  "  Yea,  I  know  it,"  was  his  short  reply ; 
"  hold  ye  your  peace."  On  Elijah's  actual  translation  they 
refused  to  believe  that  he  had  been  carried  to  the  skies, 
and  teased  and  pestered  Elisha  till  he  would  sanction  them 
despatching  fifty  of  their  number  to  search  for  the  missing 
prophet.  Of  course  they  went  on  a  fool's  errand ;  and  on 
their  return  to  Elisha,  after  three  days'  hunting  over  the 
mountains,  he  only  laughed  at  them,  and  said,  "  Did  I  not 
say  unto  you,  Go  not  ?  " 

It  was  a  company  of  the  same  class  of  young  fellows,  I 
have  not  a  doubt  (and  not  mere  "  children,"  as  our  version 
would  make  it  appear),  that  ran  after  and  mocked  him  one 
day,  as  he  was  entering  into  the  city  of  Bethel,  when  he 
turned  round  and  "cursed  them  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 
They  were  insulting  a  prophet  of  Jehovah ;  making  as  near 
an  approach  as  possible  to  the  sin  of  *'  blasphemy  against 
the  Holy  Ghost';  and — you  know  what  was  the  awful 
sequel  of  that  story. 

Well,  but  to  get  to  our  text,  the  prophet  had  come  to 
the  town  of  Gilgal ;  in  all  likelihood  to  give  some  addresses 
,  to  the  students  there;  and  quite  a  number  of  them  were 
gathered  round  to  listen  to  him.  Students  are  apt  to  be 
hungry :  and  Elisha,  knowing  this,  had  given  instruction 
to  his  servant  to  put  on  the  fire  the  biggest  pot  he  had, 
and  prepare  a  quantity  of  "  pottage.'*  I  do  not  know  what 
it  was  made  of,  possibly  lentils,  stewed  like  beans,  with 
oil  and  garlic,  a  common  dish  in  those  parts  at  the  present 
day :  and  if  they  had  been  content  with  it  plain,  there 
would  have  been   no   trouble;   but   I    suppose  that   they 


/ 


Hungry  Students ;  or,  Death  in  the  Pot,    163 

wanted  some  seasoning  to  give  it  relish,  and  so  one  was 
sent  out  to  the  fields  to  gather  herbs.  The  stupid  man  did 
not  understand  his  business,  for  instead  of  gathering  some 
wholesome  vegetable  products,  he  brought  in  a  lap  full  of 
the  Cucumus  colocynthus,  or  Momordica  elateriutHy  or  some 
other  poisonous  plant  that  abounded  in  the  district,  and 
threw  the  whole  into  the  pot.  Of  course  the  young  men 
knew  nothing  of  this;  and,  as  soon  as  the  pottage  was 
served  out  to  them,  they,  having  keen  appetites,  ^*  set  to " 
with  a  will.  Hardly  had  they  tasted,  however,  when,  with 
wry  faces,  they  threw  down  their  spoons,  looked  at  one 
another  with  consternation,  and  cried  out  to  the  prophet, 
"  O  thou  man  of  God,  there  is  death  in  the  pot  I " 

The  idea  that  has  taken  Hold  of  my  mind  to-night  is  this; 
that  numbers  of  young  men  in  this  city,  with  keen  hunger 
of  soul,  hunger  for  excitement,  for  pleasure,  for  knowledge, 
for  wealth,  are  sitting  down  to  enjoy  some  meal  that  pro- 
mises satisfaction,  little  thinking  that  it  has  been  seasoned 
with  poison ;  and  my  business  now  is  to  warn  you  of  the 
fatal  dish,  and  cry,  "  Beware  I  for  there  is  death  in  the 
pot  1 " 

I  have  spoken  so  much  lately  to  good,  moral.  Christian 
young  men,  that  some  persons  give  me  credit  for  imagining 
we  have  no  '^  black  sheep  "  here.  It  is  quite  a  mistake, 
and  I  wish  to-night  to  "  call  a  spade  a  spade,"  anjJ  tell  you 
of  some  of  the  moral  arsenic  that  is  slaying  hundreds  of 
young  men  in  the  very  midst  of  us. 

In  the  first  place,  I  say  to  any  of  y  'U  who  still  think 
alcohol  an  indispensable  ingredient  in  your  goblet  of 
pleasure,  "  Stop  I  there's  death  in  the  pot."  If  there  is 
a  bright  bit  of  blue  in  the  sky  of  England  just  now,  it 
is  the  progress  which  the  temperance  cause  is  making. 
Those  most  disinterested  patriots,  the  publicans,* are  deeply 
exercised  about  the  decrease  in  the  national  revenue;  but 


1 64    •  Talks  with  Young  Men. 

I  do    not  hesitate  to  say,  that  if  every  drop  of  alcohol  in 
England  were  poured  into  the  sea,  and  not  another  sixpence 
came  to  the  Exchequer  from  this  department  of  excise,  the 
country  would  be  immensely  wealthier  than  it  is  to-day, 
and  a  new  career  of  unexampled  prosperity  would  open 
up  to  it      Mr.  Gladstone  was  once  waited  upon  by  a  depu- 
tation of  these  noble  lovers  of  their  country,  and  he  said, 
"  Gentlemen,  don't  be  uneasy  about  the  revenue.     Give  me 
thirty  million  sober  people,  and  I  will  pay  all  the  revenue, 
and  have  a  large  surplus."     It  is  indeed  very  cheenng  to 
see  the  hold  that  temperance  principles  are  now  taking  ot 
all  sections  of  the  community;  even  her  Majesty  the  Queen 
at  last  deigning  to  make  reference  to  the  subject;  and  many 
noblemen  and  aristocrats  banishing  wine  from  their  tables. 
I  believe  that  the  use  of  stimulants  is  now  abandoned  in 
many  houses  of  business,  where  excessive  drinking  was 
once  the  order  of  the  day  ;  and,  in  many  ways,  the  tempta- 
tion is  being  taken  out  of  your  path. 

But  the  reformation  is  only  begun.      It  is  too  soon  to 
crow      Large  numbers  ol  young  men  handle  the  glass,  for 
whom  no  doctor  would  order  it  as  necessary.     Some  of  my 
present  hearers  are  rashly  playing  with  fire.     I  have  seen 
men  come   into  this  church  when  their  brains  were  not 
clear      It  is  not  so  long  ago,  since  a  well-dressed,  gentle- 
manly young  man  came  to  me  here,  solemnly  expressing 
a  wish  to  join  the  Church.     "  Sir,"  I  said  to  him,  ^'  you  are 
drunk ; "    and  he  did  not  deny  it.     When  a  man's  eyes 
dreamily  roll  from  side  to  side ;  when  his  speech  is  thick, 
and  his  manner  particularly  affectionate,  you  may  call  him 
-  slightly  elevated,"  or  "  half  seas  over,"  or  anything  you 
like  •    I  simply  call  him  ^'  drunk,"  and  declare  that  "  no 
drunkard  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."     The  bibulous 
habits  that  still  prevail  throughout  the  country  are  most 
humiliating  to  think  of;   and  nowhere  in  the  world,  pro- 


.. 


Hungry  Students  ;  or,  Death  in  the  Pot,    165 

bably,  are  they  worse  than  in  England.  "  Ah,"  you  say, 
"Scotland  I"  Well,  I  am  not  gomg  to  deny  that  intem- 
perance is  the  curse  of  Scotland  ;  but  it  is  only  fair  to  give 
you  the  impartial  opinion  of  a  stranger  upon  this  matter. 
That  well-known  genius,  Joseph  Cook,  of  Boston,  has  just 
completed  a  tour  of  the  world,  in  which  he  set  himself  care- 
fully to  study  the  modes  of  thought  and  the  habits  of  the 
various  nations  whom  he  visited ;  and  having  returned  to  his 
own  city,  he  has  been  giving  a  lecture  on  the  subject ;  in 
that  lecture  he  says  :  "  Drinking  in  England  is  something 
terrible.  It  is  a  great  deal  w^orse  than  it  is  in  Scotland. 
At  a  first-class  railway  restaurant  in  England  I  would 
sometimes  be  taking  a  glass  of  milk,  when  a  sepulchral 
voice  over  my  shoulder  would  say  to  the  waiter,  '  Give  me 
half-a-glass  of  whiskey.*  I  would  look  round,  and  there  I 
would  see  a  grand,  finely-dressed,  but  bloated  English 
gentleman,  who,  when  he  had  received  his  glass  of 
whiskey,  would  toss  it  off  in  a  second,  and  turn  away." 

Oh,  how  long  is  this  insanity  to  exist  ?  How  long  are 
young  men  to  be  such  fools  as  to  imagine  that  they  reap 
one  particle  of  benefit  from  the  alcoholic  draught  ?  How 
long  are  men,  who  profess  a  horror  of  drunkenness,  to  taste 
and  tipple,  till  they  cannot  be  happy  without  a  stimulant  ? 

Thank  God,  most  of  you  seem  to  be  in  robust  health, 
and  in  no  need  of  any  drug  whatever.  When  the  doctor 
orders  alcohol,  I  have  not  a  word  to  say ;  but,  meanwhile, 
to  as  many  of  you  as  are  in  the  way  of  using  it  as  a 
beverage,  I  would  cry,  ''  Beware  I    there  is  death  in  the 

pot ! " 

Secondly.  I  have  got  something  now  to  say  about 
another  deadly  poison  that  too  many  of  our  young  men  are 
tampering  with.  A  gentleman  said  to  me  lately,  ''  Sir,  it 
is  high  time  that  you  should  say  a  word  of  solemn  warning 
against    that   detestable   system   of  betting,  which   is  now 


i66. 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


becoming  common,  even  among  young  men  of  whom  you 
would  hardly  suspect  it."  You  will  please  remember,  that 
the  principle  is  the  same,  whether  you  stake  a  sum  of 
money  on  a  horse  at  the  Derby,  or  on  a  game  of  cards 
at  a  friend's  table.  Do  you  know  what  that  excellent  man 
and  friend  of  young  men,  Thomas  Hughes,  M.P.,  wrote 
some  time  ago  to  a  friend  in  America,  when  he  heard 
that  a  new  turf  enterprise  was  being  started  in  that 
country  ?  "  Heaven  help  you,  then  ;  for  of  all  the  cankers 
of  our  civilization,  there  is  nothing  in  this  land  approaching, 
in  unblushing  meanness,  in  rascality,  holding  its  head  high, 
to  this  belauded  institution  of  the  British  turf**  We  all 
admire  the  horse ;  but  the  horse  race  is  not  of  so  much 
importance  as  the  human  race;  and  explain  it  how  you 
will,  it  is  a  fact,  that,  if  you  want  to  see  the  most  vile, 
demoralized,  degraded  specimens  of  the  genus  homo^  you 
must  stand  at  the  office  of  some  of  the  sporting  papers  in 
the  City,  when  the  news  of  some  great  race  "  meeting  " 
is  looked  for.  (Only  take  care  of  your  watch,  or  you'll 
come  home  without  it.) 

Gambling,  of  whatever  sort,  has  not  a  word  to  be  said  in 
its  favour.  It  is  deplorable,  that  even  the  most  respectable 
of  our  morning  papers  devote  two  or  three  columns,  or 
even  more,  to  this  curse  of  our  national  life.  Gambling  is 
the  staking  or  winning  of  money  upon  mere  hazard. 

Now,  I  assert,  that  money  was  never  intended  to  be  so 
used.  A  man,  in  making  money,  should  always  be  enrich- 
ing the  world.  The  gambler  does  nothing  in  tl?at  way ;  and 
every  atom  of  success  he  reaps,  means,  in  like  proportion, 
impoverishment  and  misery  to  others.  Not  long  since,  a 
I^r.  W carried  off  from  one  race  no  less  than  ;^i 4,400. 

Now,  I  say,  a  curse  went  with  every  shilling  of  that  ignoble 
gain  ;  it  reflected  no  merit  on  its  possessor,  who  had  not 
added  an  atom  to  the  wealth  or  produce  of  the  world.     I 


Hungry  Students ;  or,  Death  in  the  Pot.    167 

have  known  young  men  who  have  been  foolishly  tempted 
into  some  betting  transaction,  and  from  that  hour  their 
degradation  began.  Gamblers  are  always  demoralised. 
The  fire  of  this  passion,  once  ignited,  burns  with  increasing 
vehemence.  I  met  the  other  day  an  officer  in  the  army,  a 
noble  fellow,  and  a  brave  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  was 
converted  a  few  years  ago ;  and  he  said  to  me,  "  The  devil 
never  had  a  better  servant  than  he  had  in  me.  I  have 
drunk  enough  alcohol  to  have  swam  in  it ;  and  only  an 
iron  constitution  could  have  stood  it.  Cards  had  such  a 
fascination,  that  day  and  night  I  was  at  it,  I  could  think  of 
nothing  else ;  now  I  loathe  the  sight." 

Every  now  and  then  I  am  meeting  with  the  case  of  a 
young  man  coming  up  to  'London,  high-toned,  virtuous, 
pure;  but,  alas,  caught  in  the  snare,  and  poisoned  with 
this  fatal  henbane.  A  year  ago,  he  started  from  his  country 
home.  Through  a  friend  he  heard  of  a  situation,  and  he 
came  up  to  enter  upon  it.  There  was  more  than  usual 
stir  that  morning  in  the  old  paternal  dwelling,  for  George 
was  coming  up  to  the  great  City  to  push  his  fortune  here. 
His  mother  slipped  a  Bible  into  his  trunk,  and  with  a  tear 
in  her  eye  gave  him  her  parting  blessing.  "  Don't  worry 
about  me,"  he  said,  '*  I  am  all  right.  Good-bye!"  Crack 
went  the  whip,  and  away  he  drove  to  meet  the  train  that 
was  to  bring  him  to  a  new  world  of  life,  and  bustle,  and 
money-making,  and  pleasure.  Ah  I  he  was  not  long  here 
before  the  vampires  got  around  him ;  and,  beginning  with 
what  seemed  a  harmless  bet,  he  has  gone  on  and  on,  till 
now  his  character  is  ruined,  his  situation  lost,  his  spirit 
broken,  his  health  shattered,  and  he  himself  a  poor  pitiful 
wreck  I  If  any  of  you  are  tampering  with  this  evil,  I 
sound  the  note  of  alarm ;  the  goblet  of  pleasure  may  be 
spiced  and  tempting,  but,  beware  I  "  there  is  dpath  in  the 
pot ! "  - 


1 68 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


Thirdly.  A  word  of  warning  as  to  the  popular  literature 
of  the  day.  Editors  and  publishers  have  an  awful  amount 
of  responsibility  resting  on  their  shoulders.  Whole  acres 
of  printed  material  are  coming  off  every  week  from  the 
great  newspaper  offices  and  publishing  houses  of  this 
country  and  America.  And  if  these  acres  of  white  paper 
were  sown  only  with  good  and  wholesome  grain,  we  should 
rejoice ;  but,  alas  I  there  is  mingled  with  it  a  vast  quantity 
of  poppy,  and  hellebore,  and  hemlock,  and  deadly  night- 
shade ;  so  that,  unsuspectingly;  thousands  of  the  young  are 
fatally  poisoned.  Those  great  cylinders  that  are  revolving 
day  and  night  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Fleet  Street  are 
engines  of  tremendous  power  for  good  or  evil.  Little 
thinks  many  a  type-setter,  as  he  picks  the  types  from  the 
fount  with  an  agility  that  is  perfectly  wonderful,  of  the 
mischief  or  the  blessing  which  his  fingers  are  scattering 
throughout  the  land  I  Like  a  good  many  other  people,  I 
am  sickened  at  the  long  list  of  murders,  and  burglaries, 
and  divorce  cases,  and  public  scandals,  that  fill  so  large 
a  space  in  some  of  the  papers ;  and  often  wish,  that, 
instead  of  such  paragraphs,  we  had  some  really  healthy 
and  instructive  reading;  but  please  don't  lay  all  the  blame 
on  the  editors,  for  there  is  generally  a  very  close  relation 
between  demand  and  supply.  The  public  have  a  craving 
for  this  low  sensational  rubbish,  or  it  would  not  be  pro- 
vided. '  The,  publishers  will  tell  us,  that  if  the  paper  is  of 
a  high-toned  and  instructive  order,  it  won't  sell.  A  man 
brilliantly  expressed  his  wonder  how  we  could.-find  out  the 
names  of  the  planets,  when  they  are  so  far  away ;  but  it 
argues  an  equal  lucidity  to  ask  where  all  those  paragraphs 
come  from,  of  mysterious  deaths,  midnight  encounters, 
runaway  matches,  and  police  adventures,  which  meet  our 
eye  almost  every  day.  Go  to  any  circulating  library,  and 
inquire  what  class  of  books  is  most  in  demand.     Ask  the 


^' 


Hungry  Students ;  or.  Death  in  the  Pot,    169 

men  who  have,  charge 'of  the  railway  bookstalls  at  King's 
Cross,  St.  Pancras,  or  Euston. 

Mark,  I  am  not  for  an  instant  implying  that  you  should 
only  read  such  works  as  "  Locke  on  the  Understanding," 
or  Butler's  "Analogy,"  or  Wilberforce's  "View  of  Chris- 
tianity," or  "  Pearson  on  the  Creed,"  or  Newcombe's  "  As- 
tronomy " ;  not  at  all ;  but  I  do  say  that  there  are  countless 
useful  and  instructive  books  that  ought  to  be  entertaining 
to  an  intelligent  mind,  and  which  ought  to  displace  the 
long  rows  of  fourth-rate  novels  that  are  so  greedily  de- 
voured ;  books  of  travel,  of  history,  of  biography,  of  popular 
science,  of  poetry,  of  art,  and  I  will  even  add,  of  refined 
and  genuine  humour.  If  you  will  take  a  word  from  me 
kindly  on  this  matter,  I  entreat  you  to  be  careful  as  to 
what  you  read,  to  be  select  in  your  choice  of  periodicals 
and  books ;  for  indiscretion  on  this  point  has  been  the  ruin 
of  many  a  young  man.  "  Can  one  take  fire  into  his  bosom, 
and  not  be  burned?"  Can  the  human  mind  be  daily 
swallowing  moral  strychnine,  and  not  be  poisoned  ?  It 
is  impossible.  You  may  fancy  it  will  do  you  no  harm, 
but  the  testimony  of  thousands  is  against  you ;  and  there- 
fore I  cry  out  to-night,  to  as  many  of  you  as  are  feasting 
on  the  dish  of  sensational  literature !  "  Beware  I  there  is 
death  in  the  pot  I  " 

My  fourth  and  last  word  of  warning  is  addressed  to  you 
who  are  being  beguiled  into  a  semi-infidel  rationalism.  You 
have  taken  up  your  residence  for  some  time  lately  in 
Doubting  Castle,  and  are  shaking  your  head  at  most  of  the 
old  truths  which  your  fathers  firmly  accepted.  We  are 
living  in  a  time  of  great  intellectual  activity,  and  of  very 
bold  speculation.  I  hear  some  young  men  utter  things  that 
their  fathers  would  not  have  dared  to  say,  thirty  years  ago  ; 
things  about  the  Bible,  about  Christianity,  about  the  story 
of  the  Gospel,  about  God,  about  the  future  world.     It  is  an 


•  _J    if  IT 


170 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


age  of  reason,  of  doubt,  of  unbelief;    and  the  bed  of  old- 
fashioned  scriptural  orthodoxy  is  much  too  short  for  the 
nineteenth-century  man.     The  literature  of  freethought  is 
largely  read  ;  and  many  a  youth  imagines  that  he  at  once 
raises  immensely  his  intellectual  reputation,  if  he  disavows 
his   belief  in   any  evangelical   doctrine.      He  poses  as   a 
thinker;    is    ostentatious    in    his   admiration    of  scientific 
sceptics  ;  and  prpfesses  to  be  so  broad  in  his  views,  that 
all  religions  are  much  the  same  to  him,  and  none  of  them 
of  great  importance.     He  is  what  is  called  '^  the  honest 
doubter";  he  is  able  to  tackle  all  questions;  and,  no  doubt, 
if  his  brain  could  be  taken  out  and  weighed,  without  putting 
him  to  inconvenience,  he  would  be  astonished  to  see  how 
ponderous  it  is.     Hand  the  young  man  a  chair ;  make  him 
at  once  president  of  the  literary  society ;    he  has  got  far 
ahead    of  his   fathers,  ahead    of  the   Bible,  ahead   of  the 
colleges  and  the  teachers  of  religion;   and  certainly  must 
be  next  thing  to  a   philosopher. 

Might  I  suggest,  that  perhaps  the  only  thing  he  is 
eminent  in,  is  unblushing  presumption  ?  For  the  humble, 
reverent  inquirer,  distressed  with  difficulties,  and  earnestly 
seeking  the  light,  here  is  the  right  hand  of  profoundest 
sympathy ;  but  for  the  flippant  sceptic,  who  condemns  the 
Bible  without  reading  it,  and  rejects  Christianity  without 
studying  the  evidences  on  behalf  of  it,  only  the  knotted 
whip  of  rebuke  and  scorn  I  Most  of  you  know  that  it  is 
not  in  my  nature  to  take  what  is  called  a  pessimist  or 
gloomy  view  of  the  age  in  which  we  live,  and  that  it  is 
my  deliberate  conviction  that  the  cause  of  Christ,  of  truth, 
and  of  righteousness  is  advancing.  At  the  same  time,  I 
am  satisfied  that,  beneath  the  surface  there  is  a  deep,  strong 
current  of  materialistic  infidelity ;  a  tendency  to  deny  every- 
thing that  does  not  fall  within  the  cognisance  of  the  outward 
senses. 


.. 


Hungry  Students ;  or.  Death  in  the  Pot,    171 

The  fruit  of  this  fs  apparent  in  every  rank  of  society. 
It  is  leading  thousands  to  pursue  only  the  pleasures  of  the 
moment,  to  set  their  hearts  on  nothing  higher  than  worldly 
gain,  and  rich  food,  and  fine  clothes,  and  prevailing  fashions, 
and  enervating  amusements.  Its  influence  is  only  to  de- 
grade. It  snatches  the  crown  from  off  our  head,  and  makes 
man  only  a  kind  of  superior  brute.  Why,  you  cannot  read 
the  daily  papers  without  seeing  how  prevalent  it  is.  Both 
in  this  country  and  America  we  are  making  goddesses  of 
women  who  possess  nothing  beyond  mere  physical  beauty. 
We  are  setting  our  hearts  on  all  those  things  that  gild  and 
soften  life,  that  give  sparkle  to  this  brief  earthly  existence, 
and  that  shut  out  thoughts  of  eternity.  This  poisonous  cant 
of  "  living  for  the  present "  is  infecting  all  classes — the  rich 
and  the  poor  alike;  and  is  inducing  on  many  minds  the 
suspicion,  though  they  dare  not  express  it,  that  there  is  no 
personal  God  above,  and  that  at  death  the  human  soul  is 
simply  snuffed  out  for  ever.  Need  you  wonder  that,  meet- 
ing as  I  do,  almost  every  day,  with  traces  of  this  debasing 
infidelity,  that  makes  life  but  an  empty  farce,  that  crushes 
to  the  dust  all  our  noblest  aspirations,  and  throws  over  the 
universe  a  sepulchral  pall,  I  cry  out  to-night  to  you  who 
are  tampering  with  the  fatal  dish,  "  Beware  I  there  is  death 
in  the  pot  I " 

Well,  I  have  warned  you  against  four  kinds  of  poison 
that  are  doing  deadly  work  amongst  young  men  ;  may  God 
preserve  you  from  them  all  I 

But,  where  is  the  ''meal"?  For,  like  Elisha,  I  would 
neutralize  the  poison,  by  throwing  into  the  caldron  that 
which  is  wholesome  and  nutritive.  I  point  you  to  the 
incomparable  pleasures  of  a  virtuous  and  godly  life;  and 
to  the  glorious  truths  of  the  Gospel,  as  the  only  food  an 
immortal  soul  can  live  upon. 

Have  you  a  clear  and  settled  creed  ?    If  not,  see  to  get 


>i- — 


wamat 


172 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


that  first  of  all,  and  find  it  for  yourselves  in  this. Divine  and 
infallible  Book.  I  commend  to  you,  in  particular,  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans.  I  know  of  no  such  meal  for  a  hungry  soul. 
Food  for  the  strongest  intellect.  Light  for  the  darkest  mind. 
Hope  for  the  most  dejected  soul.  Read  it,  and  study  it,  and 
pray  over  it,  till  Christ,  who  is  its  centre,  bursts  upon  your 
view.  Oh  I  if  you  want  to  be  safe  from  the  poisons  that 
meet  you  on  every  'side,  make  good  use  of  your  Bibles.  I 
remember  that,  when  quite  a  youth,  having  received  a 
handsome  copy  of  the  Scriptures,  I  requested  a  well-known 
Christian  poet,  then  living  in  Edinburgh,  to  write  a  verse 
on  the  fly-leaf.  He  did  so,  and  I  now  close  by  giving  you 
the  original  lines  he  wrote  : — 

•*  The  law  and  Gospe!,  bound  in  one, 
Here  meet  the  sinner's  anxious  eye ; 
And  point  him,  when  his  hopes  are  gone^ 
From  Sinai's  mount  to  Calvary. 

There,  sprinkled  with  the  Saviour's  blooci. 
And  with  the  Spirit's  quickening  dew. 

His  soul,  like  Aaron's  rod,  shnll  bud 
And  bear  celestial  almonds  too." 


Mv 


THE  WA  Y  TO  GET  ON  IN  THE  WORLD. 


4" 


**  And  Solomon^  seeing  the  young  man  that  he  was  Indus triom^  rnadt 
him  ruler  over  all  the  charge  of  the  house  of  Joseph^ — i  Kings  xL  28. 


:1 


I 


XIIL 

THE  IVAY  TO  GET  ON  IN  THE  WORLD. 

THE  young  man's  name  was  Jeroboam.  Don't  for  a 
moment  imagine  that  I  am  going  to  set  him  forth 
as  in  all  respects  a  model  for  your  imitation.  On  the 
religious  side  of  his  character  there  is  nothing  to  commend. 
He  turned  out  a  gross  idolater,  and  acquired  a  shameful 
notoriety  as  a  man  who  drew  his  countrymen  away  from 
the  worship  of  the  true  God ;  indeed,  in  history  he  came  to 
be  known  as  "Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat,  who  made  Israel 

to  sin." 

Still,  we  may  learn  something  from  him,  much  in  the 
way  of  warning,  and  one   thing  at  least   in   the  way  of 

example. 

It  is  the  latter  we  are  going  to  look  to  this  evening,  and 
I  am  glad  to  see  such  a  noble  gathering  of  young  men  before 
me ;  for  the  lesson  we  are  to  learn  from  the  text  is-one  you 
will  all  do  well  to  be  reminded  of;  namely,  that  industry  ir 
youth  brings  its  due  reward. 

Putting  it  very  briefly,  the  case  was  this : — 
Just  underneath  the  citadel  of  Zion,  in  Jerusalem,  were 
a  series  of  extensive  fortifications  and  earthworks,  which 
went  by  the  general  name  of  "  Millo."  They  were  very 
ancient,  and  had  fallen  into  a  state  of  dilapidation.  During 
the  many  wars  of  King  David,  serious  breaches 'had  been 
made  in   these   lines   of  defence;    and    Solomon,   amongst 


tJ 


176 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


^r 


other  wise  and  far-seeing  acts  of  his  reign,  had  set  to  work 
to  have  the  gaps  repaired.  It  was,  of  course,  a  great  under- 
taking, employing  a  large  number  of  men.  I  see  them  at 
work,  a  vast  throng,  as  busy  as  can  be,  with  spade,  and 
mattock,  and  pickaxe;  the  king  himself  taking  a  special 
interest  in  the  progress  of  the  work,  and  often  encouraging 
the  labourers  with  his  personal  presence. 

Amongst  these  workmen  was  a  strong,  tall,  broad- 
shouldered  youth,  whose  father,  Nebat,  had  died  some 
time  ago,  and  who  was  now  the  support  of  his  widowed 
mother.  That  young  man's  name  was  Jeroboam.  Ap- 
parently, the  operations  were  carried  on  by  a  species  of 
forced  labour,  the  arrangement  being  that  the  various  tribes 
must  each  contribute  so  many  active  hands,  or,  in  lieu 
thereof,  pay  a  certain  tax. 

A  superintendent  of  works  was  appointed  for  each  tribe, 
and  his  duty  was  to  see  that  the  due  amount  of  labour  was 
given,  or  failing  the  labour,  that  an  equivalent  was  paid 
down  in  cash. 

In  the  course  of  his  frequent  visits  to  the  works.  King 
Solomon  was  struck  with  the  robust,  manly  form  and 
indomitable  industry  of  young  Jeroboam.  The  first  clause 
of  our  verse  says,  he  "was  a  mighty  man  of  valour,"  but 
the  Septuagint — which  is  probably  more  correct — has  it 
thus  :  "  and  the  man  Jeroboam  was  very  strong."  He  was 
a  powerfully  built  fellow,  and  as  active  as  he  was  robust ; 
and  Solomon,  who — as  his  proverbs  show — had  a  keen 
appreciation  of  diligence,  resolved  to  give  him  a  position  of 
prominence;  or,  to  repeat  the  words  of  our  text,  "seeing 
the  young  man  that  he  was  industrious,  he  made  him  ruler 
(or  superintendent)  ove^  all  the  charge  of  the  house  of 
Joseph.'* 

Now  there  are  a  good  many  things  we  may  fairly  learn 
from  this  little  story  : — 


9rrst 


The   Way  to  Get  On  in  the   World.     177 

I.  In  the  first  place,  we  learn  the  importance  of  a  good, 
sound,  physical  constitution. 

Jeroboam  was  a  stalwart,  strapping  youth  :  and  never 
would  have  accomplished  what  he  did,  nor  have  risen  to  the 
position  he  afterwards  attained  to,  if  he  had  not  been  blest 
with  a  vigorous  and  healthy  bodily  frame. 

Exceptions,  of  course,  there  are  to  every  rule.  There 
have  been  little  men,  delicate  men,  puny  men,  who,  by 
sheer  force  of  character,  have  shaken  the  world.  The 
apostle  Paul  is  believed  to  have  had  a  very  insignificant 
and  unimposing  physique.  Richard  Baxter  and  Robert 
Hall  were  poor  invalids  all  their  days.  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
had  nothing  to  boast  of  as  to'  bodily  frame.  The  great 
French  historian  and  statesman,  M.  Thiers,  was  quite  a 
diminutive  man.  The  late  Professor  George  Wilson,  of 
Edinburgh,  was  about  the  shabbiest  specimen  of  humanity 
I  ever  looked  upon,  yet  pre-eminent  as  a  scientist  and  a 
lecturer. 

I  grant,  therefore,  there  are  exceptions ;  but  what  I  say 
is,  that  a  young  man  goes  out  into  the  world  under  great 
advantage  who  has  a  strong  muscular  frame  and  a  sound, 
healthy  constitution.     Now,  why  do  I  say  this  ?    Because' 
though  we  cannot  "add  a  cubit  to  our  stature,"  we  can  do 
a  good  deal  for  the  promotion  and  establishment  of  our 
health.    God  will  hold  you  responsible  for  your  invalidism,  if 
it  is  your  own  fault,  and  if,  through  exercise  and  self-deni'al, 
you  might  be  athletic  and  strong.      There  are  men  with 
cran  ped  chests,  and  weak  sides,  and  troublesome- h vers, 
who,  with  a  little  care  and  good  sense,  might  be  well  and 
hearty. 

If  you  will  go  in  for  late  hours,  5nd  irregular  meals,  and 
close  rooms,  and^  deep  potations,  and  clouds  of  tt)bacco 
smoke,  you  will  be  never  like  Jeroboam. 

I  say  to  young  men  here,  you  have  no  right  to  shatter  or 

12 


178 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


-r 


mar  the  vase  in  which  God  has  been  pleased  to  enshrine 
the  jewel  of  immortality. 

There  are  countless  suicides  every  year  in  London,  over 
which  no  coroner's  inquests  are  held ; — men  destroying 
their  health  by  pernicious  habits,  and  tumbling  into  a 
premature  grave.  I  am  thankful,  therefore,  for  the  oppor- 
tunity of  counselling  you  to  take  good  care  of  your  health. 

In  this  great  battle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  we  want 
not  only  earnest  souls,  but  stalwart  limbs,  stout  lung5,  and 
brawny  muscles.  Why  should  the  devil  get  the  best  flesh 
and  bone,  and  there  be  left  for  God  only  the  hectic  cheek 
and  wasted  form  ?  I  am  not  desecrating  the  pulpit  when 
I  claim  for  Christ  to-night  a  cheerful  countenance,  a  bright 
eye,  a  firm,  elastic  step,  a  stout  and  manly  bodily  frame. 

II.  I  learn  from  our  subject  the  advantage  oi  being  trained 
to  some  form  of  handicraft.  Jeroboam  began  with  a  pick- 
axe, and  ended  with  a  throne.  If  he  sometimes  blistered 
his  hands  in  digging  the  earthworks  of  Millo,  they  were 
all  the  better  fitted  for  holding  a  sceptre. 

Solomon  was  too  wise  a  man  to  think  the  less  of  him 
because  he  supported  his  mother  and  himself  by  manual 
labour. 

I  do  not  think  there  is  a  country  upon  earth  where  such 
foolish  notions  prevail  on  this  subject  as  in  England. 

In  certain  circles  it  seems  as  though  a  positive  stigma 
rests  upon  a  person  who  earns  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of 
his  brow.  I  confess  to  an  unbounded  contempt  for  the 
young  gentleman  who  would  not  for  the  world  carry  a 
parcel  down  the  street.  One  of  the  lessons  God  is  going 
to  teach  Great  Britain  in  the  next  fifty  years  is,  that  it 
is  no  dishonour  to  make  one's  living  by  the  labour  of  one's 

hands. 

The  rage  runs  through  society  to  bring  up  our  children 
to   what   are   called   the   genteel   professions,    which    just 


45  J^ 


The   Way  to  Get  On  in  the  World,    179 

means,  in  many  cases,  genteel  starvation.  It  is  impossible 
that  a  whole  nation  can  live  by  sitting  at  high  desks  and 
wielding  steel  pens. 

Our  first  father  was  a  gardener ;  and  it  is  a  law  of  this 
world  which  we  cannot  overturn,  that  man  must  earn  his 
bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow.  The  great  bulk  of  man- 
kind must  ultimately  make  their  livelihood  by  handicraft 
of  some  kind  or  another ; — by  tilling  the  soil,  or  engaging 
in  some  useful  trade. 

I  was  glad  to  see  it  suggested  in  a  newspaper  the  other 
day,  that  to  all  our  public  schools  a  workshop  should  be 
attached,  where  every  boy  should  spend  a  portion  of  his 
time  daily,  and  learn  some  handicraft.  It  used  to  be  a 
law  amongst  the  Jews— and  it  says  the  less  for  them  if 
the  law  has  passed  into  dissuetude — that  every  youth,  no 
matter  his  rank  in  society,  should  be  trained  to  some 
manual  occupation.  It  is  perfectly  deplorable,  the  idea 
that  many  have  taken  up,  that  if  their  kid-gloved  hands 
touch  a  hammer,  or  screw-driver,  or  lift  a  box,  or  tie  up 
a  parcel,  they  are  lowering  their  dignity.  People  seem 
to  think — such  is  the  mania  for  speculation  and  jobbing — 
that  they  must  contrive  to  make  money  without  hard 
work;  and  that  by  a  little  juggling,— by  the  meeting 
perhaps  of  a  few  men  round  a  board  once  a  week,  to 
drink  sherry,  and  talk  together, — they  can  make  far  better 
profits  than  by  real  honest  labour.  I  say  then  to-night, 
all  honour  on  the  horny  hand  and  the  sweating  brow.  If 
Jeroboam  had  not  made  good  use  of  the  spade,  he  had 
never  handled  the  sceptre. 

III.  The  next  thing  I  learn  from  our  subject  is,  that 
the  surest  way  to  rise,  in  our  calling  or  business,  what- 
ever it  be,  is  to  be  thorough  and  persevering  in  it.  I  was 
taken  the  other  day  over  one  of  the  largest  engine  factories 
in  the  north  of  England,  where  every  thing  is  managed  with 


i8o 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


the  most  perfect  regularity  ;  and  where,  though  some  thou- 
sands of  men  are  employed,  all  are  happy  and  contented :  and 
I  was  struck  with  a  remark  made  to  me  by  the  head  of  the 
firm.  He  said,  "  I  keep  a  watchful  eye  upon  my  men,  and 
whenever  I  see  special  merit,  I  give  an  advance ;  but,  the 
instant  a  man  demands  it,  he  is  paid  off." 

I  do  not  want  to  raise  controverted  questions  here  :  but 
I  will  say  this,  because  it  is  only  common  sense,  that  the 
tyrannical  principles  laid  down  by  many  of  the  trades' 
unions  are  subversive  of  the  great  laws  God  has  established 
to  stimulate  human  industry.  To  frame  arbitrary  rules 
which  will  put  all  men— the  skilful  and  the  stupid,  the 
industrious  and  the  idle— upon  one  level,  is  an  outrage 
upon  justice,  and  is  to  put  a  premium  upon  incompetency. 
It  is  a  law  which  our  Creator  has  laid  down,  and  which 
will  in  the  end  assert  itself,  though  for  a  while  men  may 
try  to  thwart  it,  thereby  bringing  a  period  of  suifering  and 
poverty  on  themselves,  that  industry  shall  meet  with  re- 
ward, and  the  idle  shall  go  to  the  wall. 

If  Jeroboam,  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  had  hung 
loosely  about  the  ramparts  of  Millo,  he  had  never  been 
made  clerk  of  the  works,  or  "  ruler  over  all  the  charge  of 
the  house  of  Joseph." 

"  Seest  thou  a  man  diligent  in  business  ?  he  shall  stand 
before  kings." 

Who  is  that,  that  i3  entertaining  princes  in  the  Guildhall 
of  London  ?  once  a  small  grocer's  errand  boy  in.a  humble 
Scottish  town.  Go  to  Lancashire,  and  see  the  name  of 
Arkwright  everywhere  :  monarch  of  cotton-mills  :  who  was 
he  ?  Kept  a  little  barber's  shop  in  a  back  street ;  but  stuck 
to  his  work,  and  got  on  from  step  to  step,  till  his  signature 
was  worth  thousands  of  pounds. 

What  was  that  that  George  Peabody  said  when  visiting 
his  native  village  in  1855  '^    He  said,  "Though  Providence 


The   Way  to  Get  On  in  the   World.    181 

has  granted  me  unvaried  and  unusual  success  in  the  pursuit 
of  fortune,  I  am  still  in  heart  the  humble  boy  who  left 
yonder  unpretending  dwelling.  There  is  not  a  youth 
within  the  sound  of  my  voice,  whose  early  opportunities 
and  advantages  are  not  very  much  greater  than  my  own, 
and  I  have  since  achieved  nothing  that  is  impossible  to 
the  most  humble  youth  among  you." 

Don't  put  on  any  airs,  then,  you  who  have  softer  skin, 
and  wear  finer  cloth,  than  others.  Some  persons  there  are, 
I  find,  much  more  ready  to  talk  about  the  Fatherhood  of 
God,  than  about  the  brotherhood  of  man.  Certain  token 
of  a  small  mind,  when  a  man,  who  has  got  on  well  in  the 
world,  and  risen  from  a  humble  sphere,  is  ashamed  to  be 
reminded  of  his  origin.  If  a  man  who  once  followed  the 
plough  is  now  a  well  salaried  clerk  in  a  city  house,  all  the 
more  to  his  credit ;  don't  let  him  blush  to  tell  of  the  thatched 
cottage  where  he  was  born,  of  the  oatmeal  and  milk  that 
formed  his  chief  support,  or  of  his  dear  old  mother  at  her 
spinning-wheel.  I  often  address  young  men  here,  who,  to 
their  honour  be  it  spoken,  are  the  main  support  of  their 
aged  parents  at  a  distance;  be  sure  God  will  repay  you, 
even  in  this  world,  for  all  you  do  for  them.  It  is  a  good 
thing,  it  is  a  beautiful  thing,  for  a  man  to  be  impelled  to 
diligence  and  industry,  in  order  that  he  may  make  others 
happy — not  merely  to  lay  up  riches  and  comforts  for  self, 
but  to  lighten  the  cares,  it  may  be,  of  a  widowed  mother, 
such  as  Jeroboam  had ;  or  to  increase  the  future  happiness 
of  one  with  whom  he  hopes  one  day  to  share  his  all.  There 
is  an  excellent  moral  effect  produced  upon  one's  daily  busi- 
ness and  life — the  unmarried  must  let  me  say  this — when 
through  it  all  there  runs  the  stimulating  thought,  that 
another  is  interested  as  well  as  yourself,  and  will  benefit 
by  your  successes. 

Now  IV.     If  I  could  get  at  the  ears  of  some  of  those 


l82 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


gentlemen  in  whose  employ  many  of  you  are,  I  would 
point  out  to  them  this  lesson  from  the  text,  that  a  wise 
master  will  mark  when  a  young  man  is  industriousy  and 
will  give  him  deserved  promotion.  There,  are,  as  we  know, 
inconsiderate  employers.  There  are  heads  of  firms  who 
have  no  more  regard  for  their  clerks  and  their  assistants 
than — well,  I  had  not  better  finish  the  sentence.  They 
simply  look  on  them  as  they  do  on  their  shop  fittings  or 
furniture.  They  value  them  only  for  what  they  can  get 
out  of  them.  Not  an  encouraging  or  helpful  word  from 
January  to  December.  If  a  young  man  comes  to  their  desk 
in  a  difficulty,  not  a  syllable  of  sympathy  or  counsel. 
Probably,  should  they  condescend  to  say  a  word,  it  is  to 
this  effect,  "If  you  don't  like  your  situaiion,  you  had  better 
go  and  find  another." 

And  such  men  will  build  large  warehouses,  and  aiiiass 
millions  of  money,  and  go  and  spend  a  serene  old  age  in 
a  fine  country  house, — without  ever  bestowing  a  thought 
upon  the  hard-wrought  young  fellows,  out  of  whose  brain, 
and  nerve,  and  muscle,  they  have  made  their  fortune. 
Happily,  there  are  in  the  City  many  noble  merchants  of 
a  very  different  spirit— full  of  thoughtfulness  and  con- 
sideration ;  and  if  they  are  wise  men — not  to  say  Christian 
men — they  will  keep  a  look  out  for  those  youths  in  their 
establishments  that  are  faithful,  diligent,  and  industrious  ; 
and,  like  Solomon,  will  give  them  the  advancement  they 
merit.  You  who  have  under  you  a  number  of  yoyng  men, 
or  a  number  of  young  women,  keep  a  watchful  eye  on  those 
that  are  industrious,  and  give  them  their  reward. 

But,  if  industry  is  to  have  its  reward,  not  less  must 
indolence  meet  its  punishment. 

There  are  some  men  who  never  succeed,  and  do  not 
deserve  to  succeed ;  either  because  they  have  no  power  of 
steady   application,   or   because,   when  they   ought  to   be 


The  Way  to  Get  On  in  the   World,    183 

sticking  to  business,  they  go  in  for  pleasure  and  amuse- 
ment. Well,  if  you  grow  thistles,  you  must  not  expect  to 
gather  olive-berries  :  if  you  sow  brambles,  you  must  not 
look  for  figs.  We  generally  have  with  us  a  few  good-for- 
nothing  young  men,  who  are  angry  with  society,  because 
it  will  not  appreciate  them  at  their  own  figure,  and  take 
them  by  the  hand.  The  warm  and  hearty  invitation  given 
to  strangers,  to  come  in  here  and  make  good  friendships, 
brings  in  about  us  from  time  to  time  lazy,  worthless  fellows, 
who  seem  to  imagine  we  have  a  supply  of  vacant  situations 
ready  for  them.  I  must  tell  you  that  you  are  under  a  great 
mistake.  There  is  not  a  straightforward,  honest,  industrious 
young  man  who  will  not  find  here  a  warm  hand  to  grasp 
him,  and  kind  words  to  welcome  him  ;  but,  if  you  have 
thrown  away  your  chance,  given  yourself  up  to  sinful 
pleasure,  and  lost  your  situation — whilst  we  would  speak 
tenderly  to  you,  and  urge  upon  you  penitence  and  reforma- 
tion—we have  no  snug  berth  to  of!er  you,  you  must  fight 
your  own  battle,  and  the  best  thing  for  you  will  be  to  find 
employment  on  the  earthworks  of  '^  Millo,"  to  redeem  your 
character  by  real  hard  work,  though  it  be  of  the  humblest 

kind. 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  think  you  will  give  me  credit  for 
having  stuck  to  the  text,  and  for  having  drained  out  of  it 
the  plain,  practical  lessons  of  common  every-day  life  which 
it  contains.  And,  remember,  the  Bible  is  a  most  practical 
book,  brimming  over  with  sound  and  valuable  instruction, 
for  our  guidance  even  in  worldly  matters. 

But  I  dare  not  leave  this  subject  without  saying  an 
earnest  and  solemn  word  upon  interests  infinitely  more 
important  than  those  of  which  we  have  been  speaking. 
You  may  be  all  that  can  be  desired  in  the  way  of  industry 
and  application  to  business,  and  yet  "without  God  and 
without  hope  in  the  world."     Jeroboam  himself  shall  pro- 


184 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


vide  you  with  a  warning.  With  much  to  recommend  him, 
with  indomitable  energy,  and  perseverance,  and  worldly 
success,  he  was  yet  unfaithful  to  Jehovah.  On  the  religious 
side  of  his  character  he  was  as  bad  as  bad  could  be.  He 
deliberately  forsook  the  true  God,  and  set  up  idols  of  gold. 
He  had  not  even  the  excuse  of  ignorance.  He  did  it  with 
his  eyes  open,  and  not  only  turned  away  from  the  true 
religion  himself,  but"  used  all  the  influence  he  possessed  to 
turn  away  other  people  too.  Ah  I  truth  to  tell,  there  are 
Jeroboams  in  the  world  still. 

It  is  a  possible  thing— though  Christ  tells  you  it  is  the 
worst  bargain  a  man  can  make— to  "gain  the  world,"  and 
'*  lose  your  soul  I  " 

There  are  men  who  have  everything  that  earth  can  give 
them,  and  yet  are  so  poor  that  the  humblest  Christian  here 
would  not  change  places  with  them  I  Their  very  success  is 
their  curse.  In  the  elation  of  their  prosperity  they  have 
gone  away  from  the  God  of  their  fathers,  and  to-day  are 
bowing  the  knee  to  calves  of  gold.  And,  like  Jeroboam, 
they  become  wonderfully  arrogant,  will  not  be  spoken  to, 
and  are  a  law  unto  themselves.  What  did  Jeroboam  care 
for  all  the  Lord's  servants  and  prophets  I  He  vowed  to  be 
himself  priest,  prophet,  and  king  all  in  one.  So  there  are 
men  who  say,  "You  stand  up  there  in  gown  and  bands, 
and  preach  like  an  angel,  and  we'll  attend  to  our  own 
affairs,  but  do  not  interfere  with  us." 

Ah  I  there  is  something  else  to  think  about  beside  the 
price  of  stocks  and  the  state  of  the  markets.  Take  care 
you  do  not  get  so  absorbed  with  business  that  you  can 
think  of  nothing  else.  A  man  is  in  a  perilous  way  when 
every  waking  moment  at  night  is  occupied  with  matters  of 
trade,  and  the  first  thing  he  does  in  the  morning  is  to  offer 
Worship  to  the  golden  calf.  He  hastens  to  get  hold  of  the 
newspaper,  not  the  Bible,  and  what  is  it  that  he  turns  to? 


The    Way  to  Get  On  in  the   World,    185 

Not  the  editorials,  not  the  marriages  and  deaths,  not  the 
proceedings  of  parliament,  but  the  price  current,  and  the 
money  market,  and  the  last  quotations  on  '  Change.  The 
man  is  wrapt  up  in  business. 

O  my  brother,  remember,  you  may  have  goods  to  sell, 
but  you  have  a  soul  to  save.  Your  whole  existence  upon 
earth  is  but  a  morsel  of  your  being.  It  is  only  a  step  or 
two  to  your  grave,  but  there  are  leagues  on  leagues  beyond. 
The  slab  of  the  tomb  is  but  the  milestone  that  tells  that  the 
traveller  has  only  commenced  his  journey. 

Man  immortal,  have  you  nothing  more  to  do  than  to 
scrape  together  some  dust? 

Child  of  eternity,  do  you  only  want  a  little"  earthly  dis- 
tinction, or  tinsel  glory  ? 

What  to  you,  when  a  few  more  suns  have  set,  will  be 
the  shop,  and  the  store,  and  the  office,  and  the  bank,  and 
the  honours  of  the  world,  and  all  the  things  that  liftec  you 
up,  and  all  the  things  that  pressed  you  down  ? 

If  the  great  folding  doors  of  eternity  were  thrown  back 
to-night,  and  you  got  but  a  peep  within,  how  paltry  would 
all  those  things  seem  I 

History  tells  us  that  some  centuries  ago  it  was  solemnly 
announced  by  some  one  high  in  authority  that  the  world 
was  coming  to  an  end. 

There  was  terrible  excitement  in  London.  On  a  particular 
Friday  the  world  was  to  be  destroyed.  On  Tuesday,  and 
Wednesday,  and  Thursday  no  business  could  he  done,  all 
the  churches  were  crowded  with  the  people,  weeping  and 
praying,  and  preparing  for  the  end.  It  seemed  as  though 
the  metropolis  and  all  England  was  going  to  be  converted 
to  God. 

Friday  came,  and  there  were  no  portents,  no  darkness, 
nor  flame ;  nor  thunders  above,  nor  quakings  beneath.  The 
day  passed  over  just  like  every  other  day,  and  when  it  was 


... 


1 86 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


passed,  and  night  came,  London  was  such  a  scene  of  riot, 
and  wassail,  and  drunkenness,  and  debauchery,  as  had 
never  before  been  witnessed. 

Ah,  how  true  to  poor  human  nature  I  Do  not  trust  to 
a  dying  hour.     Do  not  bargain  for  a  death-bed  repentance. 

I  tell  you  that  to-night  the  arms  of  Divine  love  are  open 
to  enfold  you. 

The  outstretched  hand  of  Christ  waits  for  you  to  grasp 
it.  God  has  brought  salvation  within  your  reach.  I  preach 
to  you  a  full  atonement  for  sin,  and  a  Divine  Spirit  that 
sanctifies  every  believing  soul.  I  beckon  you  at  once  to 
Jesus.  But  a  step  from  your  pew  to  Calvary,  and  another 
step  from  Calvary  to  all  the  wealth  of  Heaven.  The  emptiest 
and  poorest  of  you  here  may  at  once  become  richer  than 
the  Christless  millionaire.  Only  believe — come  to  Gospel 
terms.  Join  yourself  to  Christ  and  His  people,  and  you 
are  wealthier  far  than  ever  earth  can  make  you.  O  young 
men,  young  men,  it  is  but  a  poor  bargain  after  all,  to  gain 
the  world  and  lose  the  soul !  to  be  industrious  for  earth, 
but  negligent  of  heaven  I  to  be  rich  for  time,  but  beggared 
for  eternity  I 


THOROUGHNESS  THE  ROAD  TO  PROSPERITY. 


-iw 


•*  Jnd  in  every  work  that  he  bc^an  .  .  .  •  /^  d,d  it  vuith  all  kit 
heart,  and  prospered.'^ — 2  Chron.  xxxi.  21. 


XIV. 


THOROUGHNESS  THE  ROAD  TO  PROSPERITY, 

IN  other  words,  Hezekiah  (for  it  is  of  him  the  text  speaks) 
threw  himself  heart  and  soul  into  everything  he  under- 
took, and  met  with  almost  uninterrupted  success.     I  don't 
sa}'^  that  every  man  that  walks  in  his  steps  will  be  equally 
prosperous.     No  doubt  there  are  instances  of  men — I  think 
that  without  going  far,  I  could  mention  one  or  two — who 
have  applied   themselves   with   the   utmost  energy  to  the 
tasks  of  life,  and  yet  have  met  with  disappointment ;  almost 
everything  they  attempted  has  proved  a  failure.     But  such 
cases  are  exceedingly  rare,   and  some  of  them,   perhaps, 
admit  of  explanation.     For,  as  a  general  rule,  it  is  true —  ] 
true  in  every  age,  and  all  the  world  over — that  the  man  I 
who  is  thoroughgoing  and  painstaking,  and  **in  every  work/ 
that  he  begins,  does  it  with  all  his  heart,"  will,  and  does! 
prosper. 

Had  this  been  simply  a  case  of  worldly  industry  and 
success,  I  would  not  have  selected  it  for  my  subject 
(although  even  from  this  point  of  view  many  a  practical 
and  needed  hint  might  be  given).  But  Hezekiah  was  a 
real  man  of  God ;  and  his  wonderful  energy  of  character 
spang  out  of  his  fervid  piety.  This  connection  is  indicated 
m  the  Second  Book  of  Kings,  where  we  read,  *'  And  the  Lord 
was  with  him  ;  and  he  prospered  whithersoever  he  went;  " 
whilst  in  the  next  chapter  of  this  book  it  is  said,  **God  gave 


\/ 


I 
id 


190  Talks  with   Young  Men. 

him  substance  very  much ;  and  Hezekiah  prospered  in  all 

his  works." 

Three  times  then  it  is  mentioned  that  he  was  a  prosperous 
man.  Now,  worldly  prosperity,  as  you  all  know,  is  not  in 
itself  a  token  of  the  Divine  favour.  Bad  men  often  prosper. 
So  many  instances  of  it  did  David  see,  that  he  was  filled 
with  painful  perplex:ity  ;  he  could  not  understand  it ;  it 
almost  seemed  to  him  at  one  time  as  though  Heaven  put 
a  premium  upon  wickedness.  But  "when  he  went  into 
the  sanctuary  of  God,"  he  got  over  this  difficulty  ;  when  he 
looked  deeper  into  things,  he  perceived  that  the  prosperity 
of  ungodly  men  is  but  short-lived  and  superficial,  and  brings 
no  real  and  abiding  satisfaction  with  it.  The  only  prosperity 
worthy  of  the  name,  is  that  of  the  man  who  is  dwelling 
in  the  smile  and  favour  of  God,  and  whom  the  Psalmist 
described  in  the  words  we  have  just  been  singing  :— 

•*  He  shall  be  like  a  tree  that  grows 
Near  planted  by  a  river, 
Which  in  his  season  yields  his  fruit. 
And  his  leaf  fadeth  never. 


«« 


And  all  he  doth  shall  prosper  well 

The  vk'icked  are  not  so  ; 
But  like  they  are  unto  the  chaff 

Which  wind  drives  to  and  fro.** 

Although  Hezekiah  was  one  of  the  best  kings  that  reigned 
upon  the  throne  of  Judah,  the  conditions  of  his  early  life 
were  very  much  against  him.  His  father,  Ahaz,  was  a 
notoriously  wicked  man.  His  youth  was  cursed  by  a  most 
polluted  parental  example.  The  moral  atmosphere  he 
breathed  was  tainted  with  all  the  abominations  of  Oriental 
idolatry.  He  grew  up  amid  the  sensual  luxuries  and 
splendid  corruptions  of  a  licentious  court.  Moreover,  as 
some  would  say,  bad  blood  was  in  -his  veins.  There  cannut 
a  be  doubt  that  some  forms  of  vice  are  hereditary.     I  have 


<*;» 


•^*%- 


Thoroughness  the  'Road  to  Prosperity.    191 

seen  it      There  are  young  men  whose  conflict  with  temrta- 
tion  is  specially  hard-not  only  because  the  example  that 
has  been  set  them  at  home  has  been  evil,  but  because  they 
carry  in  their  own  persons  the  seeds  of  certain  evil  habits 
in  which  their  fathers  indulged.    Perhaps  it  is  so  w.th  some 
of  you  ;   and  only  too  well  you  know  it.     And  when  the 
thirst  or  passion  rages,  you  are  apt  to  give  in  and  despair, 
as  though  you  were  hopelessly  destined  to  rum. 
'  My  brothers,  do  nothing  of  the  kind.     Look  to  Hezekiah, 
and  take  encouragement.      Divine  grace,  can  root  out  the 
foulest  desire.     "  God   is  able  to  make  you  stand        The 
young  Hezekiah  not  only  preserved  his  virtue,  but  became 
a  truly  religious  man.     In  the  Apocrypha  he  .s  bracketed 
with   David   and  Josiah-these  three   being  described    as 
« the  only  kings  of  Judah  that  did  not  forsake  the  law  of 
their  God."     I  have  the  notion   that  he  owed   his  happy 
career  under  God,  to  the  influence  of  a  pious  mother.     We 
hardly  know  anything  of  her,  but  that  she  was  the  daughter 
of  a  holy  man  called  Zechariah,  "  who  had  understanding 
in  the  visions  of  God  "  ;  but  I  venture  to  believe  that  she 
shared  her  saintly  father's  piety,  and  bestowed  all  her  care 
to  bring  up  her  boy  in  the  fear  of  God.     1  cannot  doubt 
she  would  take  him  alone  and  pray  with  him ;  and,  readmg 
to  him  portions  of  the  Book  of  the  Law,  would  instil  its  prin- 
ciples into  his  youthful  mind,  and  warn  him  of  the  paths  of 
folly  •  and  these  instructions,  together  with  her  own  gentle 
influence  and  beautiful  example,  were  the  means,  under 
God,  of  leading  the  young  prince  in  the  right  and  happy 

way. 

Oh   do  you  not  owe.  many  of  you,  beyond  what  tongue 

can    express,    to   the    prayers   and    influence   of    a  godly 

mother  ?     There  is  no  bond  holds  you  so  tightly  as  this. 

Th.re  is  nothing  to  touch  and  melt  you  like  the  thought 

of  her  love,  or  the  memory  of  her  life.     Mothers  do  well 


Hi 


192 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


to  remember  that  their  impress  is  often  stamped    upon 
their  sons:     I  have  sometimes  felt  I  would  like  to  preach 
a  sermon  to  a  congregation  of  mothers,  who  had  boys  of 
from  six  to  sixteen  years  of  age ;  for  the  influence  they 
exert  is  incalculable.     It  is  strikingly  true,  as  seen  in  the 
pages   of  history,    that   the   most   remarkable    men    have 
possessed  mothers  of  uncommon  talents  for  good  or  bad, 
and  great  energy  of  character.     It  would  almost  seem  as 
though,  generally,  the  impress  of  the  father  is  stamped 
upon  the   daughters,  and   that   of  the   mother   upon   the 
sons.     Instances  of  the  latter,  at  least,  can  easily  be  pro- 
duced;   and  not  all  of  them  pleasing  in  their  character. 
The  fiend  who   proposed   to    Charles    IX.   of  France   the 
massacre   of    the   Huguenots,   was   the   mother   that   had 
nursed  him.     The  infamous  Nero  was  the  offspring  of  a 
woman  who  murdered   her  own  husband.     On  the  other 
hand,  what  a  striking  instance  of  the  moral  power  of  a 
good  mother  you  have  in  that  noble  Italian  hero  who  lately 
passed  away  I     With  all  his  detestation  of  the  Papal  form 
of  religion,  I  for  one  think  that  Garibaldi  was  a  believer  in 
Christ ;    and  I  was  so  pleased  to  read  in  the  papers  this 
testimony  to  his  intense  veneration  for  his  mother  : — *'  If 
he  saw  any  one  looking  at  her  picture  the  tears  started  into 
his  eyes.     He  felt  remorse  at  I  ..ving,  by  his  adventurous 
life,  been  a  source  to  her  of  cruel  anxiety.     He  believed 
in   the  power  of  her  prayers  to  preserve  him   from  the 
effects  of  his  own  temerity  ;  and  on  the  field  of  battle  or 
in   the  storm    at   sea   he  never  lost  courage,   because  he 
thought  he  saw  her  kneeling  before   God   and   imploring 
for  him  the  Divine  protection.     This  faith   in  the  efficacy 
of  her  prayers  was  never  for  a  moment  shaken.     She  was 
a  woman  of  angelic  goodness  and   inexhaustible  charity. 
Garibaldi  ascribed  his  tenderness  for  all  who  suffered  and 
were  oppressed  to  the  example  she  gave   of   compassion 


! 


.. 


i 


- 


Thoroughness  the  Road  to  Prosperity.     193 

for  the  poor."  Oh,  you  should  never  cease  to  thank  God 
those  of  you  who  have  been  blest  with  a  pious  parentage. 
If  any  of  you  are  wandering  in  evil  paths,  indulging  in 
vice,  breaking  the  Sabbath,  neglecting  the  House  of  God, 
remember  it  adds  terribly  to  your  sin,  if  you  have  a  father 
or  a  mother  who  has  earnestly  and  prayerfully  sought  to 

lend  you  aright 

But  I  must  not  forget  the  text,  for  I  wish  to  stick  close 
to  it,  and  give  this  nail  a  few  smart  raps  on  the  head 
to-night.  What  the  text  teaches  is  the  importance  of 
thoroughness  in  everything  we  undertake.  I  would  to 
God  that  what  is  here  declared  of  Hezekiah  might  be  said 
of  every  young  man  listening  to  me ;  '*  and  in  every 
work  that  he  began,  he  did   it   with   all   his   heart,  and 

prospered." 

We  touch  then  upon  the  secret  of  a  successful  life.  Some 
of  you  may  be  inclined  to  interrupt  me,  and  say,  Hezekiah's 
case  is  little  to  the  ppint ;  for  he  was  born  in  a  palace,  and 
at  twenty-five  years  of  age  was  the  occupant  of  a  throne. 
You  say,  It  is  an  easy  thing,  at  these  high^levels,  to  make 
one's  mark  upon  the  world,  and  carry  all  before  you.  Or, 
perhaps,  you  are  inclined  to  envy  some  of  your  own 
acquaintances  who  have  been  •*born  with  a  silver  spoon 
in  their  mouth,"  who  have  had  a  nice  little  capital  to  start 
with,  and  good  social  influence  to  back  them,  and  so  forth. 

Now,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  that  most  great  men, 
and  eminently  successful  men,  have  commenced  life  under 
peculiarly  unfavourable  conditions.  It  is  rather  the  excep- 
tion than  the  rule,  that  a  youth,  brought  up  under  all 
manner  of  advantages  of  wealth,  and  rank,  and  education, 
has,  by  dint  of  his  own  pluck  and  energy,  forced  his  way 
to  the  front,  and  commanded  brilliant  success. 

What  a  list  I  could  give  you  of  notable  men,  never  to  be 
forgotten  in  history,  who  rose  from  the  humblest  ranks, 

13 


aI 


\ 


194 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


starting  without  a  sixpence  in  their  pockets,  and  by  sheer 
thoioughness  and  perseverance  gaining  step  by  step  till 
they  got  to  the  top  of  the  tree.  The  immortal  Homer 
began  life  as  a  beggar ;  ^sop  was  a  slave ;  Demosthenes 
the  son  of  a  sword-maker ;  the  poet  Akenside  was  a  butcher's 
boy ;  Jeremy  Taylor  the  son  of  a  poor  barber ;  Ben  Jonson 
a  bricklayer ;  Hugh  Miller  a  mason ;  Dr.  Livingstone  a 
worker  in  a  factory;  Faraday  a  bookbinder's  apprentice; 
Dr.  Kitto  a  shoemaker ;  why,  I  might  multiply  the  instances 
to  almost  any  extent. 

Don't  any  of  you  saj',  then,  that,  because  your  origin 
happens  to  be  humble,  and  your  means  small,  you  have 
but  a  poor  chance  in  life.  Only  adopt  Hezekiah's  plan, 
and  "in  every  work  that  you  begin  do  it  with  all  your 
heart,"  and  you  may  prosper  as  well  as  he. 

The  text  speaks  of  worky  and  that  is  one  practical  hint  it 
gives  us.  Hezekiah  had  always  something  in  hand,  some 
undertaking  to  occupy  and  engage  his  attention ;  and  so 
should  every  man  have.  There  are  a  good  many  young 
gentlemen  at  the  present  day  who  have  a  perfect  horror  of 
work.  If  they  advertise,  it  is  for  "  a  light  situation."  If 
by  any  chance  labour  can  be  shirked,  they  will  shirk  it. 
Their  notion  is  that  life  should  be  one  continued  holiday. 
Be  assured  that  in  common  life  there  is  no  success  without 
industry.  There  must  be  genuine,  honest,  hard  work,  if 
you  are  to  prosper.  If  this  has  always  been  true,  it  has 
never  been  so  true  as  it  is  to-day.  There  is  too  much 
competition  to  give  indolence  and  laziness  a  chance.  There 
\  are  no  "  sleepy  hollows  "  in  modern  commerce  :  (if  you  don't 
^  I  work  you'll  be  left  behind. 

Especially  at  the  outset  of  life  do  you  need  to  brace  your- 
selves to  toil.  You  may  be  able  to  take  it  easy  by-and-by ; 
but  in  the  meantime  there  must  be  downright  hard  labour. 
It  is  just  the   opposite  of  what  you  find   in  ascending  a 


»•! 


•' 


Thoroughness  the  Road  to  Prosperity,     195 

mountain.  Have  you  ever  ascended  Snowdon,  or  Ben 
Lomond,  or  Ben  Ledi,  or  Goat'  Fell  ?  I  know  by  expe- 
rience that  the  first  part  of  the  ascent  is  very  easy,  but  the 
hard  work  comes  at  tlie  end,  when  you  are  almost  at  the 
top.  Steep  crags,  loose  rocks,  and  weather-glazed  turf 
make  it  a  hard  and  difficult  business  to  reach  the  summit. 
I  say  it  is  the  reverse  in  life,  at  least  as  a  rule.  And  it  is 
w^ell  that  it  should  be  so.  ''  It  is  good  for  a  man  that  he 
should  bear  the  ycke  in  his  youth."  Hard  work  has  a  good 
moral  influence  on  a  man. 

When  the  old  monks  thought  themselves  visited  and 
assailed  by  the  devil,  they  immediately  applied  themselves 
to  some  laborious  task.  Where  every  hour  has  its  allotted 
occupation,  there  is  no  time  for  mean  jealousies,  unclean 
desires,  and  frivolous  fancies.  ''  Depend  upon  it,"  wrote  / 
Sir  Walter  Scott  to  his  son,  "there  is  nothing  to  be  had  j^ 

without  labour." 

I  feel  sure,  from  what  is  said  of  Hezekiah,  that  he  was 
an  early  riser.  Indeed,  we  are  informed  (xxix.  20)  that 
this  was  the  case.  If  you  are  bent  on  being  prosperous 
men,  do  not  lie  in  bed  of  a  morning.  Napoleon  denied 
himself  more  than  four  hours  of  sleep;  so  did  Lord 
Brougham  ;  Paley  rose  every  morning,  summer  and  winter, 
at  five  :  and   nearly  all    successful   men  have  been  early 

risers. 

Then  again,  we  learn  from  Hezekiah  a  lesson  of  con-^ 
centration  of  energy.  "  In  every  work  that  he  began,  he 
did  it  with  all  his  heart."  He  did  not  begin  half-a-dozen 
things  at  once,  and  drivel  away  his  energy  upon  them;  he 
did  not  commence  one  thing  till  he  had  finished  anothe  . 
Many  an  instance  have  v/e  seen  of  excellent  talents 
being  wasted,  and  coming  to  nothing,  beciuse  they  were 
squandered  on  a  variety  of  aims,  instead  c.  being  focussed 
on  one  point.     Some,  young  fellows  remi  id  me  of  the  idle 


V 


196 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


\ 


warrior  made  of  tin  I  have  seen  on  the  top  of  a  weather- 
cock, bravely  bending  to  his  gun  and  ready  to  fire,  but 
swinging  round  to  every  point  of  the  compass,  and  of  no 
use  whatever,  but  to  tell  how  the  wind  blows.  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  artists  of  his 
day^;  and  in  answer  to  the  inquiry  how  he  attained  to 
such  excellence,  he  replied,  ''  By  observing  one  simple 
rule,  namely,  to  make  each  painting  the  best."  There  is 
much  truth  in  an  old  Latin  proverb  which  says,  "He  who 
followsj  two  hares  is  sure  to  catch  neither." 

**  Whate'er  your  forte,  to  that  your  zeal  confine^ 
Let  all  your  efforts  there  concentred  shine  ; 
As  shallow  streams  collected  form  a  tide, 
So  talents  thrive,  to  one  grand  point  applied." 

Method  and  punctuality y  too,  seem  to  be  indirectly  hinted 
at  in  the  text ;  and  they  are  almost  indispensable  to  pros- 
perity. Slovenliness  of  habit  has  been  the  ruin  of  many  a 
youth.  It  is  surprising  how  often  success  in  life  has  been 
due  to  some  trifling  evidence  which  a  young  man  has  given 
of  orderliness  or  precision ;  it  has  been  the  making  of  his 
fortune.  "  You  have  made  us  lose  a  whole  hour,"  said  a 
gentleman  to  a  lad,  as  he  came  into  a  room  where  an  im- 
portant corrimittee  was  meeting.  ^^  Beg  pardon,  sir,  that  is 
impossible,"  said  the  youth,  taking  out  his  watch,  "  I  am 
only  five  minutes  l^te."  "Very  true,"  repUed  the  other, 
**  but  there  are  twelve  of  us  here,  and  each  one  of  us  has 
lost  five  minutes ;  so  that  makes  an  hour."  The  young 
fellow  was  startled  at  that  way  of  looking  at  it,  and  vowed 
he  should  never  be  one  minute  behind  time  again. 

But  the  great  lesson  we  learn  from  the  text  is  the  value 

of  thoroughness  of  doing  whatever  we  undertake  with  our 

whole  heart,  and   doing  it  well.      There  is  an  estimable 

gentleman  in  the  House  of  Commons,  who  has  risen  from 

.  the  humblest  position  to  be  a  member  of  the  British  Par- 


^. 


t 


Thoroughness  the  Road  to  Prosperity,     197 

liament;  and  when  a  snob,  whose  father's  servant  this 
gentleman  had  once  been,  had  the  impertinence  one  day  to 
try  and  insult  him  by  saying,  "Why,  you  once  blacked  my 
father's  boots,"  he  nobly  replied,  "  Yes,  and  didn't  I  black 
them  well?"  Ask  any  man  who  has  been  paHicularly  1  / 
prosperous  in  some  line  of  business,  and  he  will  tell  you  \J 
that  he  largely  owes  his  success  to  the  fact  that  he  started 
with  the  fixed  resolve,  that,  whatever  he  took  in  hand,  he 
would  do  it  to  the  best  of  his  power.  This  was  the  prin- 
ciple of  Strafford,  the  great  minister  of  Charles  I.,  who  took 
for  his  motto  the  one  word,  "  Thorough  ! "  Ben  Jonson  in 
one  of  his  plays  makes  a  character  say,  "  When  I  once  take 
the  humour  of  a  thing,  I  am  like  your  tailor's  needle — I  go 
through  with  it." 

Do  nothing  as  if  it  were  trifling;  if  it  be  so,  it  is  un- 
worthy of  you. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  say — offend  whom  it  may— that  the 
want  of  thoroughness  is  the  great  outstanding  blot  upon 
the  trade  and  commerce  of  our  time.  It  is  not  only 
mahogany  tables  that  are  veneer,  and  silver  jugs  that  are 
thinly  plated,  and  strawberry  pottles  that  are  only  good  at 
the  top ;  but  everywhere,  and  in  all  departments  of  trade, 
shams  are  the  rule.  Gilt  and  paint  carry  the  day.  Every- 
thing for  show. 

A  high-minded  man  will  set  his  face  against  every  form 
of  imposture.    He  will  go  in  for  genuine,  honest  work.     He- 
will  take  a  pride  in  doing  every  job  well,  and  turning  out 
the  very  best  article  he  can  produce. 

My  brothers,  I  commend  to  you  Hezekiah  for  your  model ; 
"  in  every  work  you  begin,  do  it  with  all  your  heart,"  and 
you  will  prosper.  That  is,  you  will  have  true  prosperity. 
Outside  success  is  only  Birmingham  jewellery,  of  which, 
they  say,  that  out  of  an  old  coalscuttle  and  one  sovereign, 
can  be  made  a  thousand  pounds'  worth  of  gold  plate.     To 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


198 

live  well,  is  better  than  to  make  money.  But  even  as 
regards  worldly  success,  the  likeliest  road  to  it  by  far  is 
the  road  I  am  commending.  Ask  the  first  merchants  m 
London  to-day,  the  foremost  and  wealthiest  men  in  any 
branch  of  industry ;  and,  without  a  dissenting  voice,  they 
will  tell  you  that  thoroughness,  like  honesty,  is  the  best 

policy. 

For,  indeed,  it  is  just  6ne  form  of  honesty,  Conscien. 
tiousness  is  seen  as  much  in  the  handling  of  tools  as  m  the 
handling  of  money.  May  God  give  to  every  one  of  you  a 
career  of  steady  and  honourable  success  1 

There  is  a  striking  picture  in  the  Royal  Academy,  repre 
senting  a  military  incident  that  occurred  during  the  war  m 
the  Transvaal.  Two  young  cavalry  officers,  formerly  school 
companions  at  Eton,  are  seen  boldly  dashing  up  at  the  head 
of  a  corps  to  the  attack  on  Laing's  Nek,  when  the  horse  of 
one  of  them  is  shot  beneath  him,  and  falls  with  its  rider  to 
the  ground.  Just  at  that  instant  the  other  shouted,  "  Come 
along,  Monck;  we  must  be  in  the  front  rank.  Floreat 
Etona  I "  The  words  were  hardly  out  of  his  lips  when  a 
bullet  went  through  his  heart.    ^ 

Ah  !  such,  too  often,  is  the  story  of  mere  worldly  success. 
Just  as  the  pinnacle  of  aspiration  is  reached,  there  is  sudden 
collapse ;  or  death  steps  in  and  lays  its  arrest  on  all. 

I  should  be  taking  a  sadly  low  aim  this  evening,  did  I 
seek  for  you  nothing  better  than  earthly  prosperity.  I 
would  have  you  to  emulate  Hezekiah's  ardent  and  con^ 
sistent  piety.  He  stands  in  the  front  rank,  among  the  safints 
of  Scripture,  as  a  man  of  prayer.  Every  difficulty  and 
trouble  he  took  straight  to  God,  and  spread  it  out  before 
Him.  Oh,  what  a  comfort  it  is  to  be  able  to  do  this ;  to 
feel  that  we  have  a  friend  yonder  to  whom  we  can  go  in  all 
our  troubles.  I  don't  speak  merely  of  set  times  and  forms 
.of  prayer,  though  I  hope  that  each  of  you  begins  and  ends 


- 


Thoroughness  the  Road  to  Prosperity.    199 

each  day  upon  your  knees;  but  I  speak  of  a  far  richer 
privilege  than  that,  which  can  belong  only  to  those  of  you 
who  have  accepted  Christ  as  your  Saviour,  and  have  found 
peace  with  God  through  Him;  the  privilege  I  mean  of 
taking  everything  to  God,  and  asking  His  guidance  at  every 

step. 

You  have  probably  heard  of  the  distinguished  Christian 
lawyer,  Sir  Edward  Coke;  his  plan  for  each  twenty-four 
hours  he  expressed  in  the  couplet : — 

«*  Six  hours  to  sleep,  to  law's  grave  study  six  ; 
Four  spent  in  prayer,  the  rest  on  Nature  fix." 

But  Sir  William  Jones's  distribution  of  his  time  revealed, 
perhaps,  a  higher  type  of  practical  piety  :— 

«*  Seven  hours  to  law,  to  soothing  slumber  seven. 
Ten  to  the  world  allot,  and  all  to  Heaven." 

Yes,  this  is  the  highest  attainment  of  the  Christian  life, 
to  feel  that  we  are  always  within  reach  of  the  ear  and  ot 
the  hand  of  God.  Oh,  have  not  some  of  you  been  lately 
living  a  long  way  off  from  Him  ?  You  have  been  getting 
terribly  dead,  and  unimpressible  to  spiritual  things.  The 
Bible  has  been  neglected,  and  the  Sabbath  profaned,  and 
perhaps  even  prayer  given  up.  Some  of  you  used  to  be 
members  of  the  Christian  Church,  but  you  haven't  been  at 
the  Lord's  Table  for  many  a  long  month,  perhaps  haven't 
even  taken  out  of  your  desk  that  kind  letter  of  introduction 
you  brought  with  you  from  a  pastor  in  the  country ;  and 
time  is  creeping  on,  and  the  soul  is  giving  you  less  and  less 
concern,  and  you  can  think  of  nothing  now  but  business 
and  pleasure.  Oh,  my  dear  friend,  are  you  just  to  go 
sliding  down  the  fatal  path,  till  God  is  utterly  forgotten, 
and  every  ray  of  immortal  hope  extinguished  for  ever? 
What  will  all  woridly  success  be  to  you,  if  Christ  is  un- 
known, and  the  eternal  future  dark  as  deepest  midnights 


200 


Talks  with  Young  Alen. 


gloom  ?  Is  it  not  just  possible,  that  some  of  you  are  com- 
mitting the  greatest  mistake  that  mortal  man  can  make, 
the  mistake  of  leaving  the  soul's  interests  all  unsettled, 
and  delaying  to  an  hour  which  may  never  be  given  you, 
preparation  for  a  hastening  eternity !  I  am  so  glad  to  meet 
you  to-night,  and  sound  the  note  of  warning  in  your  car. 
And  not  warning  only,  but  kind  and  loving  invitation  :  for 
to  each  of  you  are  offered  now  all  the  blessings  of  Christ's 
free  and  glorious  salvation  I  Come,  and  find  in  true  godli- 
ness the  grand  secret  of  a  bright,  active,  and  energetic  life, 
the  key  to  the  highest  and  best  success ;  then  shall  you  be 
independent  of  fickle  fortune's  smile  and  frown  ;  you  shall 
know  that  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God  is  on  all  your 
ways,  and  in  every  work  that  you  begin,  doing  it  with  all 
your  heart,  you  shall  truly  prosjjer. 


STARTING  ON  THE  RIGHT  RAILS. 


<«  While  he  was  yet  young,  he  began  to  seek  after  the  God  of  David  his 
father.^'' — 2  Chron.  xxxiv.  3. 


XV. 


STARTING  ON  THE  RIGHT  RAILS. 

HE  was  just  sixteen.  Had  he  been  like  most  lads  at 
that  age,  he  would  have  said,  '*  It  is  far  too  early 
in  life  for  me  to  trouble  myself  about  religion ;  plenty  of 
time  for  that  by-and-by."  But  he  wasn't  like  most  men. 
There  are  not  fifty  per  cent,  of  young  men  like  Josiah. 
Not  twenty  per  cent.  Not  two  per  cent.  You  ask  me  for 
proof?  I  give  you  the  statement  in  the  Second  Book  of 
Kings:  "And  like  unto  him  was  there  none  before  him, 
that  turned  to  the  Lord  with  all  his  heart,  and  with  all  his 
soul,  and  with  all  his  might,  according  to  the  law  of  Moses ; 
neither  after  him  arose  there  any  hke  him." 

I  aim  high  then  this  evening.  I  set  before  you  one  of 
the  best  models  that  even  the  Bible  contains  There  are 
stains  on  the  life  of  Jacob,  on  the  character  of  David,  on 
the  behaviour  of  Solomon,  but  not  a  single  stain  upon 
Josiah.  I  think  we  all  fall  in  love  with  this  young  man, 
so  earnest,  so  consistent,  so  diligent,  so  thorough  in  aH 
he  was,  and  in  all  he  did ;  and  the  grand  secret  of  the 
whole  lay  here,  that  "  while  he  was  yet  young,  he  began 
to  seek  after  the  God  of  David  his  father." 

Sometimes  a  person  says  to  me,  knowing  that  I  have 
preached  scores  of  sermons  to  young  men,  "What  can 
you  get  to  say  ?  "  My  dear  friends,  that  is  not  the  difficulty. 
It  is  rather,  what  not  to  say.  This  evening  my  trouble  is, 
not  how  to  expand^  but  how  to  curtail.     Truth  is  so  many 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


204 

sided,  and  your  special  temptations  are  so  various,  and, 
above  all,  the  Bible  is  so  rich  and  full,  that  I  have  no  fear 
of  wanting  material  for  thought.  When  I  find  I  have 
exhausted  this  Book,  I  will  let  you  know.  It  is  veiy 
noticeable,  that  the  histories  in  Scripture  of  kmgs,  and 
other  eminent  men,  tell  us  so  much  about  their  youth. 
Where  they  were  born,  who  their  father  was,  who  their 
mother  was,  from  what  ancestral  stock  they  came,  what 
happened  to  them  in  their  childhood,  who  their  religious 
instructors  were,  and  so  forth  ;  all  these  things  are  deemed 
worthy  of  mention  in  the  Bible. 

And  I  can  well  understand  why.  It  is  the  influences- 
that  are  around  you  when  you  are  about  sixteen,  and  for 
ten  years  thereafter,  the  tendencies  you  then  manifest,  the 
courses  you  then  follow,  that  virtually  determine  your 
whole  after  life.     For  this  reason,  I  wish  a  little  earnest 

talk  with  you. 

In  speaking  to  you  about  Josiah  as  a  model  for  young 
men,  I  shall  touch  upon  three  points,  and  try  to  make 
each  of  them  interesting  and  useful.  First,  when  his 
religious  life  began  ;  secondly,  what  complexion  it  took  ; 
and  thirdly,  what  effects  it  produced. 

I.   When  his  religious  life   began.-The  text  tells  us  it 

was  "while  he  was  yet  young."     Although  he  was  about 

sixteen  when  he  began  earnestly  to  "seek  the  Lord,    yet 

even  from  his  eighth  year  he  showed  a  pious,  thoughtful 

spirit.     As  a  mere  boy,  he  evinced  a  beautiful  character, 

and  gave  promise  of  a  virtuous  life.     We  all  know  there 

is  a  great  difference  in  the  natural  dispositions  of  children  ; 

and,  although   every  heart   needs   to   be  changed   by  the 

grace  of  God,  yet  some  young  people  seem,  almost  from  the 

•  dawn  of  intelligence,  to  be  more  open  to  good  impressions 

than  others,  and  more  easily  lead  in  the  right  way.      It 

is  somewhat  remarkable  that  young  Josiah  should  have 


Starting  on  the  Right  Rails.  205 

been  so  piously  disposed,  for  he  was  brought  up  under 
circumstances  of  the  most  unfavourable  kind*  His  father 
was  a  decidedly  bad  man ;  the  court  life,  in  the  midst  of 
which  he  was  reared,  was  utterly  corrupt;  the  officials 
who  hung  about  the  palace  were  mostly  idolaters;  and 
the  national  religion  was  at  the  lowest  ebb. 

'*How  in  the  world  did  this  little  boy  acquire  the  good 
principles  he  so  soon  manifested  ?  I  will  tell  you  how 
I  think  it  was.  Of  course  God's  Spirit  can  renew  the 
heart  under  any  outward  circumstances.  He  is  inde- 
pendent of  human  instrumentality,  but,  as  a  rule.  He 
employs  external  means.  I  have  told  you  that  Josiah 
had  a  bad  father;  no  mistake  about  that;  but  I  didn't 
say  he  had  a  bad  mother.  I  think-  his  mother  was  a 
good,  pious  woman.  We  are  told  in  the  Second  Book  of 
Kings  that  her  name  was  Jedidah,  which  means  "  the  Lord's 
beloved."  Now,  a  good  name  is  not  always  a  true  index 
of  character,  but  generally  it  is  so  in  the  Word  of  God. 

Well  but  perhaps  you  remind  me  of  Manasseh's  mother. 
Manasseh  was  Josiah's  grandfather,  and  his  mother's  name 
was  a  very  beautiful  one,  though  he  turned  out  a  wicked 
man;  it  was  Hephzibah,  which  means  "the  Lord  dehghteth 
in  thee."  "  What  do  you  make  of  that  ?  "  you  say.  Why, 
I  think  it  is  quite  a  case  in  point.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
Hephzibah,  who,  by  the  way,  was  a  daughter  of  the 
prophet  Isaiah,  did  all  in  her  power  to  train  up  her  boy 
in  the  right  way  ;  and  she  was  not,  eventually,  without 
her  reward.  Although,  as  a  young  man,  he  was  a  disgrace 
to  his  position,  yet  the  seed  sown  in  early  life  sprang  up 

in  his  latter  days;  and  Manasseh's  repentance  is  perhaps 
the  most  notable  instance  of  spiritual  reformation  contained 

in  Scripture. 

Well,  with  Jedidah  for  his  mother,  and  Hephzibah  for 
his  great-grandmother,  it  is  very  likely  that  young  Josfah 


* 

Talks  with  Young  Men. 


206 

had  many  a  holy  lesson  in  his  tender  years,  and  that  these 
good  ladies  did  for   him  what  we  know  Eunice  and  Lois 

did  for  Timothy. 

Oh  I  the  innuence  of  a  mother  I     I  do  not  wonder  that 
in  the  Book  of  Kings,  as  every  fresh  monarch's  name  is 

mentioned,  it  is  added,  "  And  his  mother's  name  was . 

Yes,  a  mother's  inttuence  is  often  greater  than  even  a 
father's.  I  am  sure,  young  men,  we  can,  most  of  us,  say 
that  Many  of  us  have  had  good  mothers ;  they  are  now 
in  heaven  ;  but  we  can  hardly  think  of  them  without  the 
tear  starting  into  the  eye.  That  dear  old  face,  ah  I  the 
memory  of  it  is  a  sermon  I  And  if  the  father  happened 
to  be,  as  he  was  in  this  case,  a  thoroughly  ungodly  man, 
I  think  it  only  adds  to  the  magic  power  of  the  mother's 
gentleness.  Oh,  there  is  many  a  lad  here  to-night  that 
has  got  a  saint  of  a  mother  praying  for  him  I  Remember, 
it  is  an  awful  thing  to  resist,  to  withstand,  such  a  prayer 

as  that  ,    •  u' 

But,  to  come  back  to  the  point,  when  did  Josiah  s  re 

ligious  life  really  begin  ?  About  his  sixteenth  year.    It  was 
then  that  he  set  himself  earnestly  to  seek  the  Lord.     None 
too  soon.     I  am  not  going  to  say  to  any  little  boys  here, 
"  You  are  safe  to  wait  till  then  ; "  for  the  earlier  the  better; 
but  I  wish  rather  to  speak  to  those  who  are  past  that  age, 
and  are  still  undecided ;  and  I  tell  you,  you  have  not  a  day 
to  lose.     Among  names  that  are  well  known  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  is  that  of  Aaron  Burr;  and  I  would 
point  to  his  career  as  a  solemn  lesson  to  you.     He  -was  the 
son  of  godly  parents  ;  his  mother,  a  daughter  of  President 
Edwards,  was  a  true  Jedidah,  one  of  the  Lord's  beloved 
ones,  a  woman   distinguished   for   her  culture  and   piety. 
Aaron  Burr  was  brought  up  amid  influences  which  augered 
well  for  his  future,  and  laid  upon  him  a  weight  of  responsi- 
bility.    When  he  was  nineteen    years  of  age,  the  Spirit  of 


Starting  on  the  Right  Rails.  207 

God  dwelt  powerfully  with  his.  soul.     He  became  aeeply 
awakened,  and  saw  that  he  must  come  to  a  decision  between 
the  world  and  God.     One  or  other  he  must  choose.     While 
in  this  state  of  spiritual  distress,  he  retired  for  a  week  or 
two  into  the  country,  for  the  express  purpose  of  giving  the 
matter   his   full   consideration.      What  passed  within   the 
d-epths  of  his  soul  throughout  this  critical  moment  I  do  not 
know  but  he  came  home  with  the  resolution-I  give  you 
his  own  words-"  never  again  to  trouble  himself  about  his 
soul's  salvation."      So  he  threw   himself  into   the  world 
casting  religion  behind  him  for  ever  1     What  was  the  result  ? 
I  dare  not  attempt  to  draw  aside  the  veil  that  conceals  from 
us  his  eternal  doom,  but  his  life  became  a  very  wretched 
one      He  was  disappointed  in  his  ambitions,  and  soured 
against  all  the  world.     He  had  nothing  to  sustain  him  amid 
his  reverses,  and  died  a  miserable  and  hopeless  man.     He 
had  cast  off  God,  and  God  cast  him  off  I     What  1  am  afraid 
of   my  brothers,  is  not  that  you  will  do  as  Aaron  Burr  did 
Jl  cannot  think  you  will  deliberately  do  that,-but  (which 
comes  to  the  same  in  the  end)   that  you  will  put  oflf  the 
concerns  of  your   soul  from   year  to  year,  till  all  senous 
i„,pressions    die  out  for  ever  1     By-and-by,  you    will  get 
married  and  settled  in  life,  and,  with  a  thousand  things  to 
think  of,  the  soul  will  be  forgotten. 

I  tell  you  what  it  is,  young  men,  you  cannot  afford  to 
throw  away  your  youth.  There  is  not  a  month  not  a  4ay 
to  lose.  A  short  time  ago  a  Christian  lady  was  laid  upon  a 
sick  bed,  and,  finding  she  was  dying,  she  summoned  her 
children  around  her.  As  they  approached  her  bed  one  by 
one,  she  stretched  out  her  hand,  and  took  theirs  in  hers, 
and  very  solemnly-for  she  was  on  the  brink  of  eternity- 
she  sai7  to  them,  "I  charge  you  before  God,  nieet  me  a 
God's  right  hand."  When  it  came  to  the  turn  of  the  eldest 
son  a  grown-up  young  man,  she  was  greatly  agitated,  for 


20&  Talks  with   Young  Men. 

she  knew  he  had  been  living  a  reckless  life.  She  grasped 
his  hand,  and  said, — the  tears  flowing  from  her  eyes, — "■  My 
boy,  ere  I  die,  I  want  you  to  make  me  a  promise.  I  want 
you  solemnly  to  promise  me  that  you  will  seek  the  salvation 
of  your  soul."  He  hesitated,  and  stood  silent,  and  hung 
down  his  head.  It  was  a  time  of  dreadful  suspense.  The 
moments  seemed  like  hours.  His  spirit  would  not  yield. 
At  last,  as  he  lifted  up- his  eyes,  he  met  his  mother's  gaze. 
Oh,  that  look  I  that  tender,  yearning,  pleading  look  I  It 
pierced  his  heart.  ''  My  son,"  she  again  exclaimed,  "  meet 
me  at  God's  right  hand.  Promise."  "  Mother,"  he  replied, 
"I  will,  I  will."  Her  face  brightened  up.  A  heavenly 
smile  stole  over  her  features;  she  whispered,  "Thank  God, 
I  can  die  now/'  and  fell  back  on  the  pillow  a  corpse  I  This 
is  a  true  story;  and  that  young  man  kept  his  word, 
and  is  now  a  decided  and  happy  Christian.  O  unsaved 
young  man,  will  you  not  make  me  the  same  promise 
to-night  ? 

Now  I  want  to  inquire, 

II.  What  was  the  complexion  of  Josiah's  piety?— \  think 
there  is  something  suggestive  in  the  expression,  "  He  began 
to  seek  the  God  of  David  his  father."  "  Forefather,"  of 
course,  is  meant.  David  had  been  dead  full  four  hundred 
years  ;  but,  as  the  head  of  the  dynasty,  and  the  most  eminent 
progenitor,  he  was  generally  spoken  of  as  he  is  in  the  text. 
In  the  line  of  Josiah's  ancestry  there  had  been  many  godly 
and  noble  men;  there  were  Asa,  and  Jehoshaphat,  and 
Amaziah,  and  Hezekiah,  and  others;  but  the  best  thing 
that  could  be  said  of  any  of  them  was,  that  they  "  walked 
in  the  ways  of  David  their  father.*' 

It  is  an  unspeakable  blessing  to  have  been  born  in  the 
line  of  a  Christian  parentage.  The  purest  blood  the  world 
has  ever  known  is  that  of  a  pious  ancestry.  To  be 
descended  from  princes  and  noble^  is  nothing  in  comparison. 


Starting  on  the  Right  Rails.  209 

The  true  rank  is  the  aristocracy  of  grace.  There  is  probably 
not  a  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe  in  which  there  are  so 
many  Christian  families  as  there  are  in  our  own,  who  can 
trace  back  their  lineage  to  a  pious  ancestry.  Many  of  you, 
I  know,  can  never  think  of  home  without  feelings  of  the 
profoundest  respect  for  your  parents  and  grandparents. 
They  may  have  had  old-fashioned  ways,  and  on  some  points 
their  views  may  have  been  narrow,  but  oh,  they  were  good, 
and  saintly,  and  beautiful  I 

It  is  no  dishonour  to  a  young  man  to  believe  in  the  religion 
of  his  fathers.  No  youth,  with  a  particle  of  real  manliness, 
will  think  it  beneath  him  to  recall  the  days  when  his  mother 
prayed  with  him,  and  taught  him  to  sing  sweet  hymns  oi 
the  better  land.  Every  such  memory  will  be  a  source  of 
moral  strength.  Said  a  French  monarch,  when  once  solicited 
to  consent  to  a  dishonourable  treaty,  "  The  blood  of  Charle- 
magne  is  in  my  veins,  and  who  dares  propose  this  thing 

to  me  ?  " 

And  many  of  you  when  assaulted  by  temptation,  may 
find  a  similar  argument  of  great  force.  Remember,  the 
child  of  godly  parentage,  if  he  becomes  an  outcast,  generally 
falls  lower  than  the  average.  In  the  natural  course  of 
things  he  becomes  a  hardened  sinner.  I  have  observed  it 
repeatedly.  The  young  man  who  comes  up  to  London 
from  a  quiet  country  home,  where  he  was  hedged  round 
by  holy  influences,  and  who  plunges  ivto  the  follies  and 
infidelities  of  this  great  city,  almost  invariably  turns  out 
one  of  the  worst  of  characters. 

I  believe  that  the  richest  treasure  some  of  you  will  ever 
possess  is  the  memory  of  childhood's  home.  Oh  what  a 
charm  it  has  !  The  peaceful  Sabbath.  The  village  church 
—I  hear  the  tinkle  of  its  humble  bell.  I  see  the  people 
slowly  gathering  from  every  side  to  hear  the  word  of  God. 
How  simple  the  music  I     How  earnest  the  service  I     And 

14 


2IO 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


If 


oh,  the  sweetness  of  those  Sabbath  evenings  !  Some  of  you 
have  come  from  the  north  of  the  Tweed.  I  almost  think 
you  have  more  to  account  for  than  others.  It  was  an 
English  poet  that  wrote  : — 


'*  O  Scotland  !  much  I  love  thy  tranquil  dales  : 
But  most  on  Sabbath  eve,  when  low  the  sun 
Slants  through  the  upland  copse,  'tis  my  delight, 
•Wandering,  and  stopping  oft,  to  hear  the  song 
Of  kindred  praise  arise  from  humble  roof." 

Ay,  but  it  was  not  Sabbath  evening  only.  Regularly  as  the 
day  closed,  were  you  wont  to  meet  around  the  old  family 
Bible,  and  commit  one  another  to  a  Heavenly  Father's  care. 
Burns  never  was  so  happy  as  when  he  pictured  that  holy 
scene  : — 

"  The  cheerfu'  supper  done,  wi'  serious  face, 

They  roun'  the  ingle  form  a  circle  wide  ; 
The  sire  turns  o'er  wi'  patriarchial  grace, 

The  big  ha'-Bible,  ance  his  father's  pride  s 
His  bonnet  reverently  is  laid  aside, 

His  lyart  halTets  wearin'  thin  and  bare  : 
Those  strains  that  once  did  sweet  in  Zion  glide, 

He  wales  a  portion  with  judicious  care, 

And  *Let  us  worship  God,'  he  says,  with  solemn  air. 
♦  *♦♦♦♦ 

•'Then,  kneeling  down  to  Heaven's  Eternal  King, 
'J  he  saint,  the  father,  and  the  husband  prays  : 
Hope  springs  exulting  on  triumphant  wing, 

That  thus  tliey  all  shall  meet  in  future  days  ; 
There  ever  bask  in  uncreated  rays. 

No  more  to  sigh,  or  shed  the  bitter  tear,  : 

Together  hymning  their  Creator's  praise, 
'^  In  such  society,  yet  still  more  dear  ; 

While  circling  time  moves  round  in  an  eternal  sphere." 

That  intellectual  pride  which  makes  a  young  man  speak 
disrespectfully  of  his  fathers  is  a  very  weak  affection  of 
the  brain.     It  is  a  preposterous  and  unreasonable  thing  to 


Starting  on  the  Right  Rails,  211 

suppose  that  nothing  in  religious  faith  can  be  settled  by  the 
past,  and  that  each  one  must  inquire  for  himself  de  novoy 
accepting  nothing  which  his  own  reason  has  not  evolved. 
As  well  may  I,  in  the  study  of  astronomy,  refuse  to  accept 
any  of  the  conclusions  of  Kepler,  Newton,  and  Herschel, 
and  limit  my  belief  to  such  discoveries  as  I  myself  can 
•'make.  It  is  always  a  hopeful  and  promising  token  of  a 
young  man's  character,  that,  without  abjectly  pinning  him- 
self down  to  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  he  treats  that  faith 
with  the  profoundest  respect,  and  will  not  easily  be  per- 
suaded to  surrender  it. 

And  it  is  this  feature  of  Josiah's  piety  that  I  earnestly 
commend  to  your  admiration  and  example.  The  celebrated 
John  Randolph,  writing  to  a  friend  -shortly  before  his  own 
death,  remarked  :  "  At  one  period  of  my  life  I  was  upon 
the  point  of  becoming  an  atheist.  I  had  in  a  great  degree 
let  go  my  hold  of  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  was 
about  taking  the  plunge  into  the  dreadful  abyss  of  Atheism. 
I  was  only  held  back  from  it  by  the  recollection  that,  when 
I  was  a  little  child,  my  mother,  who  is  now  a  saint  in 
heaven,  used  to  make  me  kneel  by  her  side,  and  then,  taking 
my  little  hands  in  hers,  taught  me  to  say,  *  Our  Father, 
which  art  in  heaven.'"  Dear  friends,  have  more  sense 
than  to  be  fascinated  with  the  new-fangled  doctrines  which 
some  restless  teachers  of  this  age  would  force  down  your 
throats ;  the  grand  old  Gospel  which  saved  our  fathers 'is 
good  enough  for  you  and  me. 

III.    What  was  the  practical  outcome  of  Josiah's  piety  ? I 

might  answer  this  question  in  a  single  sentence.  His  whole 
life  was  spent  in  setting  things  right  throughout  his  kingdom. 
All  his  energy  was  devoted  to  promoting  the  happiness  of 
his  people  and  the  glory  of  God.  In  this  respect  he  had 
plenty  to  do.  His  lot  fell  on  bad  times.  The  true  religion 
was  almost  extinct.     The  Book  of  God  had  been  lost,     the 


-i 


212 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


nation  was  sunk  in  idolatry  and  vice.  Society  was  rotten. 
Bribery  and  corruption  everywhere.  Josiah  saw  that  God 
had  called  him  to  a  great  work,  and  he  set  to  it  with  a  will. 
Never  was  there  a  purer  patriotism  or  a  nobler  philanthropy. 
And  Heaven  smiled  upon  his  work.  The  young  king  proved 
an  immense  blessing  to  his  people.  One  thing  about  his 
religion  is  very  noticeable  ;  he  was  not  ashamed  of  it.  He 
openly  professed  it.  He  x:ame  out  boldly  and  decidedly  as 
a  champion  for  God.  He  persuaded  the  people  to  enter 
into  a  solemn  covenant  to  serve  the  Lord  ;  and  he  himself, 
standing  beside  a  pillar  of  the  temple,  read  to  them  aloud 
the  Divine  Law  they  had  all  so  neglected. 

Young  men,  it  is  a  great  thing  to  embark  early  on  some 
work  of  Christian  usefulness.  The  life  of  God  cannot 
thrive  in  your  own  souls  if  you  do  not  declare  yourselves  to 
be  out  and  out  on  the  Lord's  side,  and  if  you  do  not  take  in 
hand  some  service  for  the  good  of  others.  That  church- 
certificate  you  got  from  your  minister  in  the  country  has  no 
business  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  your  desk  or  trunk ;  fetch 
it  out,  and  take  your  place  among  the  followers  of  Christ. 
Buckle  on  to  some  Christian  enterprise  ;  let  not  these  talents 
of  yours  be  wasted  during  the  best  of  your  existence. 

People  talk  about  the  moral  dangers  of  London  :  "Oh, 
it's  a  dreadful  place  for  young  men  I "  I  say,  London  is  a 
glorious  place  for  young  men,  if  they  will  but  stir  up  what 
is  manly  in  them,  and  ask  grace  from  Heaven  to  use  their 
opportunity  aright.  I  know  scores  of  young  men  who  will 
never  cease  to  thank  God  for  bringing  them  to  the  metro- 
polis. Here,  with  all  its  temptations,  they  have  found  an 
earnestness  of  religious  life,  and  a  scope  for  religious  activity 
they  never  had  in  the  country.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  we 
want  more  of  a  practical  patriotism  amongst  our  young 
men.  There  are  many  honest,  respectable,  well-behaved 
young  fellows  who  are  too  much    men  of  one  idea — that 


Starting  on  the  Right  Rails,  213 

idea  being  their  business.     The  late  Sir  James  Simpson, 
speaking  on  the  subject  of  some  extremely  small  human 
skulls,  which  had  been  discovered  in  the   Orkney  Islands, 
observed    that  devotion   to  one  pursuit  and  few   ideas   is 
known  to  give  contracted  skulls.     Now,  there  is  a  danger 
of  having  a  contracted  skull.     The  hours  of  release  from 
business  should  be  turned  to  good  purpose.     Many,  as  wc 
well  know,   think  of  nothing  but  frivolous  pleasure ;  and 
having  occupied  one  portion  of  the   twenty-four  hours  in 
making  money,  occupy  the  remainotir  in  throwing  it  away 
on   sensual  gratification.      Detestable  life  1     Oh,    sirs,  ye 
were  born  to    something  nobler  than   that.     L  believe  the 
day  is  at  hand  when  our  young  men  are  to  take  a  deeper 
interest  in   social,   national,  pohtical.  questions.      Without 
saying  to  which  of  the  two  political  camps  I  belong,  I  will 
say  this,   that  never  was  I  so  full  of  good  hope  for  the 
future  of  our   country  as  I  am  to-day.     We  want   some 
thousands  of  young  Josiahs  to  arise  and  sweep  the  land  of 
its  ignorance,  its  intemperance,  its  Sabbath  profanation,  and 
all  the  other  evils  that  afflict  it,  and  bright  days  are  in  store 
for  our  favoured  isle.     Oh,  I  adjure  you,  turn  your  back  on 
every  gin  palace  and  beer  shop,  as  you  would  on  hell.     Do 
not  degrade  yourself  by  fostering  a  trade  that  is  the  most 
gigantic  curse  that  England  ever  knew.     Here  is  a  house 
of  business   with    eight   young  men  in   it     The   hour   of 
closing  comes,  and  six  of  these  young  men  go  out,  as  they 
call  it,  on  a  spree ;  that  is,  upon  a  beastly  excursion,  and 
they  call  it  pleasure,  having  a  jolly  time  of  it.     One  of  the 
remaining  two,  disdaining  to  join  them,  seeks  to  improve 
his  mind  by  reading,  or  he  attends  a  lecture,  or  takes  part 
in  the  work  of  a  literary  association ;  whilst  the  last  sallies 
forth  to  do  what  good  he  can  in  the  slums,  or  to  help  on 
some  benevolent  or  philanthropic  cause. 

Do  I  need  to  ask  you  which  of  these  young  men^  will 


214 


l^alks  with   Young  Men. 


come  to  grief,  and  which  will  rise  to  self-respect  and  honour, 
and  leave  a  blessed  name  behind  him  ? 

What  a  mighty  power  for  good  there  is  in  this  company 
I  see  before  me  I  If  every  brother  here  were  to  vow  that 
he  will  not  let  a  day  pass  without  doing  some  good  to 
another,  what  a  blessing  we  should  be  in  the  community  I 

I  do  not  wonder  that^  when  Josiah  died,  all  the  people  of 
Judah  lamented  and  mourned  for  him  as  they  had  done  for 
no  other.  He  lived  so  as  to  be  missed.  Is  any  one  here 
content  to  leave  the  world  without  having  done  good  to  a 
single  fellow-creature  ?  Some  of  you,  perhaps,  are  utter 
strangers.  You  never  were  here  before.  You  hardly  know 
any  one  in  London.  You  cannot  see  any  opening  for  use- 
fulness. Well,  I  call  upon  those  who  are  perfectly  at  home 
here  to  make  you  feel  that  you  are  surrounded  by  sympathy 
and  kindness.  I  want  you  to  know  that  you  have  come 
into  the  midst  of  a  large  family  circle.  Please  don't  stand 
on  ceremony.  There  are  as  warm  hearts  and  kind  hands 
here  as  you  will  find  on  earth,  only  some  of  us  are  terribly 
afflicted  with  bashfulness.  Give  us  a  chance  of  speaking  to 
you.  Do  not  be  too  much  afraid  of  intrusion.  Let  us  all 
shake  hands  with  one  another,  and  make  the  Church  the 
most  socFable  place  on  earth. 

No  excuse  for  you,  sir,  from  to-night,  if  you  write  home 
that  you  haven't  a  friend  in  London.  I  am  keeping  you  too 
long,  but  I  find  it  difficult  to  stop.  It  does  my  heart  good 
to  see  such  an  assembly,  but  I  shall  not  be  satisfied  unless 
some  of  you  will  get  up  at  once  and  take  the  start  for 
heaven.  I  want  you,  like  Josiah,  "while  you  are  yet 
young,  to  begin  to  seek  the  Lord  of  your  fathers." 

There  are  not  many  of  you  who  can  begin  so  early  as  he 
did.  But  it  is  not  too  late.  Believe  that  Jesus  died  for  you. 
Get  hold  of  this  precious  truth,  that  in  His  giant  arms  lie 
has  taken  up  the  mountain  of  your  sins,  and  hurled  it  into  a 


Starting  on  the  Right  Rails.  215 

sea  of  atoning  blood.     The  soul  that  trusts  is  safe.     Faith  is 
a  key  that  shall  open  to  you  trea'sures  of  grace  and  comfort. 
Have  the  great  matter  of  your  salvation  settled  npw.     Get 
all  terror  cleared  out  of  the  future  by  accepting  forthwith  of 
Christ's  redeeming  love.     Oh,  young  man,  is  not  the  Spirit 
whispering  to  you  that  this  is  the  day,  and  this  the  hour, 
when  you  ought  to  take  Jesus  as  your  personal  Saviour  ? 
You  are  born  for  immortality.     That  sun  shall  be  snuffed 
out  like  a  candle,  and  the  stars  wither  from  the  vault  ot 
night.     Thrones  shall  vanish,  and  kingdoms  perish,  and  the 
islands  of  the  sea  flee  away,  and  the  earth  be  consumed  in 
flame ;  but  you  are  immortal  I     You  are  to  live  on  for  ages, 
for  ages  untold.     On  these  fleeting  hours  of  time  hang  the 
destinies  of  a  vast  eternity  I     Tell  me,,  are  you  prepared  to 
spend  in  levity  this  golden  season  of  youthful  ardour,  in  the 
vain   hope  of  repentance    by-and-by,  when   the  glow  and 
charm  of  life  shall  have  gone  for  ever  ? 

In  a  theatre  there  comes  first  the  tragedy,  and  afterwards 
the  comedy.  First,  some  terrible  and  impassioned  drama 
that  stirs  the  blood,  and  thrills  the  soul,  and  moistens  the 
eye ;  and  then,  before  the  curtain  finally  falls,  some  bur- 
lesque or  farce  fiUing'the  house  with  laughter.  But,  are  not 
some  of  you  reversing  that  order  ?  Now,  life  is  to  you 
gaiety,  and  jest,  and  mirth  :  but,  in  a  while,  there  shall  come 
the  change  to  sorrow,  and  remorse,  and  agony.  Oh,  be 
wise  in  time  I  While  you  are  yet  young,  begin  to  seek 
after  the  God  of  your  fathers  i     Auien. 


'Wi 


BEGINNING  WELL,  BUT  ENDING  ILL. 


wt 


* '  7A^  Lor  I  is  wi  h  you,  while  yr.  be  with  Him :  and  if  ye  seek  Him,  Ht 
:i  bcjound  of  ycui  but  ij y  forsake  Him,  Ht  willjorsake  your 

•'  '  aCHKON.  XV.  X 


^ 


XVL 

BEGINNING  WELL,  BUT  ENDING  ILL. 

THESE  words  were  uttered  by  a  prophet  named  Azariah 
under  the  immediate  inspiration  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ; 
and  never  was  the  truth  of  them  better  illustrated  than  in 
the  history  of  the  man  to  whom  they  were  spoken.  That 
man  was  Asa,  King  of  Judah,  in  whose  career  were  exem- 
plified both  parts  of  my  text,  and  whom  I  am  now  to  set 
before  you  as  at  once  an  example  and  a  warning. 

In  the  successive  kings  of  Judah  and  Israel  we  see  human 
nature  in  almost  all  its  forms ;  we  see  every  variety  of 
character,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent ;  and  there  is  not  one  of 
them  that  may  not  be  a  useful  study  for  young  men.  Some 
of  them  were  good,  very  good;  some  of  them  bad,  very  bad  ; 
some  began  well,  but  turned  out  ill;  some  began  ill,  but 
turned  out  well ;  some  started  on  a  wrong  course,  and 
continued  to  do  wickedly  all  their  days ;  whilst  some  set 
out  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  never  swerved  from  the  path 
of  rectitude. 

If  we  had  only  the  memoir  of  Asa  which  is  contained  in 
the  First  Book  of  Kings,  we  should  certainly  assign  him  a 
place  in  the  last  and  most  honourable  catalogue.  Scarcely 
a  hint  do  we  find  there  of  any  falling  away  from  the  high 
religious  standard  of  his  early  life.  Indeed,  it  is  stated,  that 
"  Asa  did  that  which  was  right  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  ag 
did  David  his  father;"  and,  more  than  that,  that  "Asa's 
heart  was  perfect  with  the  Lord  all  his  days."     It  is  clear. 


220  Talks  with  Young  Men. 

however,  that  such  expressions  are  to  be  taken  in  a  qualified 
sense.     On  comparing  Scripture  with  Scripture,  we  some- 
times learn  what  a  casual  reader  might  not  observe      In  the 
First  Book  of  Chronicles  we  find  a  dark  shadow  faUmg  upon 
the  closing  period  of  Asa's  life.     Alas  1  he  did  not  end  as  he 
began.     He  fell  into  that  sin  that  has  been  the  rum  of  so 
many   good    men-pride   and   self-confidence.      His   piety 
cooled.     His  faith  languished.     In  his  troubles  he  leaned 
on  an  arm  of  ttesh.     Indeed,  it  is  a  very  distressmg  picture 
of  him  that  we  have  in  the  eighteenth  chapter.     The  good 
and   faithful   prophet    Hanani   was   sent  to  h.m  with  this 
message  from  heaven  :  "  Because  thou  hast  relied  on  the 
king  of  Syria,  and  not  relied  on  the  Lord  thy  God,  therefore 
is  the  host  of  the  king  of  Syria  escaped  out  of  thme  hand 
«  Herein  thou  hast  done  foolishly,  therefore  from  henceforth 
thou  Shalt  have  wars."     Instead  of  being  humbled  by  this 
solemn  rebuke  from  God's  minister,  the  proud  king  got  into 
a  rage,  and  shut  him  up  in  prison.     He  also  gave  vent  to 
his  evil  temper  in  oppressing  some  of  the  people. 

Nor  did  affliction  seem  to  have  any  effect  in  softening  his 
heart.     God  sent  him  a  serious  illness,  a  disease  which  is 
described  as  having  been  "exceeding  great";  "yet,     we 
read,  "in  his  disease  he  sought  not  to  the  Lord,  but  to  the 
physicians."     I  think  it  is  one  of  the  saddest  cases  of  de- 
clension you  find  in  the  Bible.     I  cannot  say  how  he  died^ 
Scripture  draws  a  veil  over  that  part  of  the  story.     And 
though  we  cling  to  the  hope  that  the  poor  backslider  was 
brought  to  true  penitence  ere  he  passed  away,  yet  the  very 
fact  that  we  have  no  statement  to  that  eff-ect  may  be  viewed 
as  intended  to  be  a  solemn  warning  against  the  beginnings 
of  spiritual  indiff-erence.     It  seems  to  say  to  those  of  you, 
„,y  brothers,-and  there  are  many  such  here,-who  have 
had  deep  impressions  of  religion  in  your  early  life,  who  have 
truly  loved  and  trusted  in  the  Lord,  who  have  been  prayer- 


^' 


«.■>#» 


r 


Beginning   Well^   but  Ending  III,      221 

loving,  Bible-reading  young  Christians, — "Don't  trust  in 
this  earnestness  of  the  past ;  don't  rely  on  your  own  strength, 
and  think  there  is  no  danger  of  falling;  your  only  safety 
is  in  cleaving  closely  to  the  Lord.  The  Lord  is  with  you, 
while  ye  be  with  Him  :  and  if  ye  seek  Him,  He  will  be  found 
of  you  :  but  if  ye  forsake  Him,  He  will  forsake  you."  There 
is  many  a  useful  point  to  be  learnt  from  the  story  of  Asa's 
life.  I  shall  select  a  few  of  the  most  prominent.  To  assist 
memory,  let  me  pin  your  thoughts  to  three  things  in  relation 
to  the  piety  of  Asa.  First,  where  it  was  born ;  secondly, 
how  it  was  proved ;  and  thirdly,  where  it  failed. 

L  Where  was  it  born  ?  In  a  most  unlikely  home.  I  wish 
to  point  out  here  the  sovereignty  of  Gocfs  grace.  For  I  do 
believe,  and  I  must  proceed  on  the  assumption,  that  Asa 
was  a  converted  man.  We  shall  come  to  the  evidence  of 
that  presently.  But  how  unlikely  was  it,  that  that  boy 
should  have  had  one  serious  or  holy  thought.  He  was 
brought  up  in  an  ungodly  family.  The  influences  around 
him  where  of  a  vicious  character.  His  grandfather,  Reho- 
boam,  was  a  fool,  and  worse  than  a  fool.  His  grandmother, 
Maachah,  who  lived  to  be  an  old  woman,  was  a  miserable, 
bigoted  idolater.  And,  as  for  his  father,  Abijah,  we  read 
that  "  he  walked  in  all  the  sins  of  Rehoboam,  which  he  had 
done  before  him  ;  and  his  heart  was  not  perfect  with  the 
Lord  his  God."  The  court  was  corrupt.  Society  was 
rotten.  The  nation  was  fast  going  over  to  the  abominations 
of  the  heathen.  We  are  told  that  the  people  of  Judah 
"  built  them  high  places  and  images  and  groves,  on  every 
high  hill,  and  under  every  green  tree." 

Where  the  young  Asa  picked  up  his  good  principles, 
I  cannot  tell.  The  moral  atmosphere  he  breathed  was 
enough  to  poison  the  finest  child  that  was  ever  bom.^ 
Remember,  he  knew  nothing  of  the  retirement  of  a  private 
home.      He  lived   among  the  gaities  and  splendours  of  a 


't 


3t 


222 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


corrupt  court;  and  hardly  a  spot  on  earth  could  be  more 
fatal  to  youthful  innocence.     It  has  been  the  lot  of  many  to 
be  born  and  educated  under  circumstances  which  rendered 
their  conversion  to  God,  humanly  speaking,  most  improbable. 
Their  infantile  lips  have  been  taught  to  profane  God's  name. 
The  maddening  cup  has  been  forced  to  their  mouth,  almost 
as  soon  as  they  left  the  breast.     The  first  sounds  that  have 
met  their  ears  have  been  coarse  jests,  and  frivolous  laughter, 
and  horrid  oaths,  and  infidel  sneers ;  whilst  they  have  been 
witnesses  of  carousal  and  revelry  sufficient  to  pollute  every 
spring  of  their  being.      And  yet,  amid  such  scenes  and 
sounds,  may  and  have  been  found  some  bright  gems    ot 
grace ;  to  the  glory  of  Him  who  has  placed  the  brightest 
diamonds  in  the  darkest  mines,  and  the  richest  pearls  in  the 

deepest  seas. 

Sometimes  the  devil  seems  to  outwit  himself.     The  very 
hideousness  of  sin  causes  a  recoil.     I  have  known  instances 
of  the  children  of  drunken  parents  vowing  from  what  they 
saw  at  home  never  to  taste  a  drop  of  drink.     The  sons  of 
infidels  have  seen  enough  of  the  horrors  of  Atheism  to  dr.ve 
them  over  to  the  Christian  faith.     There  are  young  people 
connected  with  this  Church  whose  home-surroundmgs  are  all 
against  them.     It  is  in  spite  of  father  and  mother  that  they 
come  to  the  House  of  God,  and  strive  to  live  a  godly  hie. 
1  always  feel  a  peculiar  sympathy  for  such.    They  encounter 
terrible  disadvantage,  and  therefore  should  specially  .-have 
our  help  and  prayers.     Ah  !  they  will  rise  up  in  judgment 
against  some  of  you  who  have  con-e  frrth  from  a  p.ou.- 
home,  who  have  been  blest  with  a  praying  mother  and  a 
saintly  father,  and  yet  have  chosen  the  evil  way. 

Sometimes  we  see  in  London   how  God  uses  the  very 

enormities  of  sin  to  save  men  from  sin.     I  have  again  and 

'    again  known  of  young  men  who  have  been  startled  by  the 

sight  of  the  wickedness  they   have  seen ;  they  have  been 


Beginning  Well,  but  Ending  III.       223 

horrified  and  disgusted ;    and  it  has  made  them  rebound 
to  a  more  decided  religious  profession.     Wrote  one  young 
man  to  his  father,  •'  I  did  not  know  how  wicked  young  men 
could  be  till  I  came  here.      I  shall  not  get  through  without 
a  wreck,  unless  I  commit  myself  as  a  follower  of  Christ 
He  joined   the   Church,  and   became  a  bright   and    useful 
Christian.     Young  men  have  declared  to  me  in  my  own 
study  that  they  have  found  it  an  inestimable  help  and  bless- 
ing to   be  pronounced— to  be  entered  on  the  list  of  Christ's 
followers;  this  fact  has,  with  God's  blessing,  been  of  great 
service  in  enabling  them  to  resist  the  tempter. 

Remember,  my  lads,  you  may  be  in  a  lodging,  or  m  a 
situation,  or  in  society  most  unfavourable  to  godliness, 
and  yet  the  same  grace  that  preserved  Asa  pure  and  devout 
amid  the  corruptions  of  the  royal  court   may   keep   you 

clean. 

I  ask,  11.  How  was  Asa's  piety  evidenced?  What  proof  have 
we  of  its  reality  ?     I  answer,  we  have  two  proofs,  each  ot 
which  is  strong,  but  both  of  which  are  conclusive.     The 
first  is,  his  fervent  prayerfulness.     The  name  of  Asa  will 
always  be  associated  with  one  remarkable  prayer  he  offered, 
the  substance  of  which  was  in  these  words  :  "  Lord,  it  is 
nothing  with  Thee  to  help,  whether  with  many,  or  with 
them  that  have  no  power  :  help  us,  O  Lord  our  God,  for 
we   rest  on  Thee,  and   in   Thy  name  we  go  agamst  this 
multitude.    O  Lord,  Thou  art  our  God  :  let  not  man  prevail 
against  Thee."     If  ever  prayer  came  forth  from  a  devout 
and  humble  heart,  that  prayer  did.     And,  as  -  the  effectual 
fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man,"  it  availed  much.     God 
gave  an  immediate  answer. 

But  prayerfulness  was  a  habit  of  Asa.  To  his  people 
he  said,  "We  have  sought  the  Lord  our  God,  we  have 
sought  Him,  and  He  has  given  us  rest  on  every  side." 
He  took  all  his  troubles  straight  to  his  Father  in  heaven. 


nK 


224 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


When  a  man  does  that,  you  may  feel  sure  there  is  grace 
in  his  heart.  This  is  generally  a  safe  test  of  one's  spiritual 
state.  If  you  can  live  without  prayer,  and  especially  with- 
out private  prayer,  you  need  not  persuade  yourself  that  you 
are  a  Christian.  Many  a  young  man's  downward  career 
has  dated  from  the  day  when  he  gave  up  his  secret  devo- 
tions. It  is  one  of  Satan's  first  endeavours,  when  he  wants 
to  drag  you  down  to  ruin,  to  get  you  to  give  up  prayer. 
He  knows  very  well  that  a  praying  man  will  not  be  a 
godless  man,  and  it  is  just  as  true  that  a  bad  man  will  not 
be  a  praying  man — at  least,  he  will  not  pray  until  terror 
or  trouble  come  upon  him.  Scoffers  have  sometimes  been 
the  first  to  fall  on  their  knees  when  sudden  danger  over- 
whelmed them.  As  old  Seneca  said  of  atheists,  that  "  they 
deny  God  by  day,  but  own  Him  at  night,"  so  all  the  argu- 
ments which  sceptics  have  used  against  prayer  have  melted 
away  in  the  season  of  their  extremity. 

One  who  has  often  attended  these  services  told  me  that 
when  he  was  away  on  the  Chinese  seas  there  was  a  young 
man  on  board  the  ship,  an  engineer,  who  was  constantly 
forcing  upon  the  rest  his  infidel  views  ;  but,  when  they 
were  overtaken  by  a  terrific  storm,  and  for  a  time  it 
seemed  as  if  the  vessel  must  founder,  there  was  not  one 
who  was  in  such  a  state  of  mental  distraction  as  he.  Oh, 
young  men,  whatever  you  neglect,  do  not  neglect  prayer. 
It  is  the  very  breath  of  the  Christian  life.  Dr.  Arnold 
expressed  his  own  firm  belief  that  nothing  would  force 
that  man  into  infidelity  who  kept  up  loving  communion 
with  God  in  Christ. 

The  second  proof  of  Asa*s  piety  was  his  uncompromising 
opposition  to  everything  that  was  sinful.  He  was  not  satis- 
fied with  mere  acts  of  devotion.  With  him  prayer  and 
practice  were  combined.  He  set  his  face  against  all  that 
was  wrong.     He  purged   his  court  of  the  vices  that  had 


V 


'^ 


Beginning   Welly  but  Ending  III.       225 

prevailed.  He  destroyed  the  altars,  and  shrines,  and 
images  of  idolatry ;  and  both  by  precept  and  example  did 
all  in  his  power  to  win  his  people  over  to  the  worship 
and  service  of  the  true  God. 

One  curious  instance  is  given  of  the  resoluteness  of  his 
purpose.  His  grandmother,  Maachah,  who  was  queen- 
dowager,  and  had  great  influence  at  court,  was  a  hardened 
old  idolater,  and  had  secretly  made  an  idol  in  a  grove  : 
what  did  the  young  king  do  but  remove  her  from  her  place 
of  honour,  cut  her  idol  in  pieces,  stamp  it  under  his  feet, 
burn  it  to  ashes,  and  throw  the  ashes  into  the  river.  Quite 
right,  too;  a  trimming,  undecided  policy  is  never  a  sound  one. 

Now  we  want  men  of  this  stamp,  men  who  have  prin- 
ciples and  stick  to  them ;  men  who  draw  a  clear  line 
between  the  right  and  the  wrong,  and  whom  nothing  will 
persuade  to  do  what  is  base  or  dishonourable.  There  are 
deeply  religious  men,— I  mean  religious  in  a  sense,— full  of 
a  certain  fervour  and  unction,  scrupulously  regular  in  their 
devotions,  and  almost  sanctimonious  in  their  bearing,  who, 
to  tell  the  truth,  are  not  the  most  distinguished  for  the 
beauty  of  their  character,  and  the  consistency  of  their  daily 
life;  and  there  are  highly  moral  and  upright  men, 
thoroughly  straightforward  and  conscientious,  who  have 
no  spirituality  about  them,  and  scarcely  a  vestige  of  any 
kind  of  religion ;  but  neither  of  these  characters  is  to  be 
admired— both  are  to  be  condemned  :  for,  on  the  one  hand, 
a  virtuousness  which  does  not  spring  out  of  faith  in  God  is 
of  little  worth— it  is  like  a  cut  flower,  which,  being  without 
a  root,  has  no  real  life ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  a  religious- 
ness  which  is  not  accompanied  by  practical  consistency  of 
conduct  is  an  imposture  and  a  sham. 

We  want  men  of  faith  and  men  of  prayer,  men  who  look  , 
through   these  outward  shadows  into   the  everlasting  law 
and  mind  of  God,  and  who  bring  their  Christian  faith  to 

15 


226 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


bear  upon  the  smallest  details  of  daily  common  life.     Such 
men  are  all  too  rare,  and  our  land  suffers  through  lack  of 
them;     the     wheels    of    industry    and    commerce    move 
heavily ;   our  commercial  reputation  is  not  what  it  should 
be;  and  even  in  high  places  the  people  have  set  before 
them  examples  of  loose  morals,  lax  notions  of  honour,  and 
mournful    breaches   of  mercantile    rectitude   and   domestic 
fidehty.     The  hope  of  our  country,  and  the  secret  of  any 
higher  prosperity  which  may  be  in  store  for  it  in  the  future, 
is   not    more   money,  but  more  integrity,  more  principle, 
more  faith.     We  want  men  of  the  Asa  stamp,  who  keep 
up  constant  communion  with  the  unseen  God  in  whom  they 
trust,  drawing   their   strength    from  above  ;  and   who  are 
resolute  in   their  purpose  to  eliminate   from   their  affairs 
everything   that  is  even  tainted  with  iniquity.     Saints  of 
skin-deep  piety  the  world  has  plenty  of;  and  for  sheep's 
clothing  there  is  always  a   large   demand  in  the  market. 
There  are  men  who  will  sing  loud  in  their  pews  on  Sunday, 
but  give  thirty-five  inches  to   the  yard   on   Monday  ;  they 
will  read  their   morning  chapter^  at  home,  but  when  they 
get  to  the,  Uty  create  a  false  panic  to  their  own  advantage. 
The   finest   strawberries   somehow  lie  on  the  top  of  the 
basket ;  and  fresh  paint  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins. 

Young  men,  set  your  faces  sternly  against  all  that.  If 
fraud  be  a  sheer  .necessity  in  order  to  be  rich,  then  choose 
to  be  poor.  Determine  from  the  outset  to  find  the  rulp  of 
your  life  in  the  Bible,  and  the  strength  of  your  life  in  prayer, 
and  then  go  out  into  the  world  to  show  how  pure,  how 
•  noble,  how  happy,  a  Christian's  life  can  be. 

III.  Where  did  the  piety  of  Asa  fail  ?     Unhappily,  he  is 

set  forth  as  a  warning  as  well  as  an  example.     He  was 

one  of  those  men  whose  latter  end  was  not  so  good  as  their 

•beginning.     Not  that  he  was  a  lost  man ;  I  do  not  believe 

that.     1  do  not  doubt  for  a  moment  that  he  was  a  real  man 


Beginning  Well,  but  Ending  III.      227 

of  God;  but,  sad  to  say,  his  pious  ardour  cooled ;  he 
V  tcame  proud,  and  self-willed,  and  worldly.  The  evidence 
of  this  is  only  too  plain;  and— what  makes  the  matter 
worse — there  is  no  mention  of  his  coming  back  to  a  better 
state  of  mind  before  he  died.  Had  there  been  a  decided 
manifestation  of  contrition,  it  would  surely  have  been 
recorded.  His  life's  day,  which  opened  with  so  bright  a 
morning,  closed  in  cloud  and  gloom. 

You  ask  me,  on  what  grounds  do  I  say  this  ?  The  answer 
is  not  dif^cult  to  give.  When  Asa  found  that  his  neighbour, 
Baasha,  King  of  Israel,  was  threatening  him  with  trouble, 
what  did  he  do  ?  Instead  of  laying  the  matter  before  the 
Lord,  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  do  in  earlier  days,  he 
applied  to  a  heathen  monarch  to  help  him  in  his  difficulties  ; 
and  not  only  so,  but  he  bribed  him  to  do  so  by  sacrilegiously 
taking  gold  and  silver  vessels  out  of  the  temple,  and  sending 
them  as  a  present  to  him. 

Nor  was  this  all.     The   Lord  sent  His  faithful  prophet 

Hanani  to  remonstrate  with   the  king,  and  show  him  his 

error ;  but  instead  of  humbly  receiving  the  admonition,  Asa 

fell  into  a  rage,  and  locked  up  the  prophet  in  prison.     It 

was  but  too  evident  that  an  evil  spirit  was  possessing  him  ; 

and  the  words  that  Azariah  had  spoken  to  him  many  years 

before    seemed  about  to   be   fulfilled :  "  If  ye  forsake  the 

Lord,  He   also  will  forsake   you."     Asa  fell  into  a  hard; 

sullen  state  of  mind.      He  had  not  now  the  peaceful  trust 

in  God  that  once  he  enjoyed.     The  consequence  was,  that, 

when  sickness  came,,  he  felt  as  though  he  had  no  Heavenly 

Friend  to  go  to.     In  the   latter  years  of  his  life  he  was  a 

martyr   to   gout   of   a   most   agonising   description;    "his 

disease   was   exceeding   great,"    yet    he  did  not  go  in  his 

trouble  to  God,  but  only   to   earthly   physicians.     As  old 

John  Trapp  says,   "This  good  man  was  for  a  while  the 

worse  for  his  whipTnng.'* 


228 


Talks  with   Youvg  Men. 


And  thus  he  died.  His  is  one  of  the  most  disappointing 
careers  in  the  Bible.  His  morning  was  so  fair  and  full  of 
promise,  that  we  expected  a  glorious  sunset.  But  his  sun 
went  down  in  cloud.  If  a  man's  relations  with  God  are  not 
right,  acute  pain  may  have  the  effect  only  of  souring  his 
heart.  1  have  always  felt  th^t  petition  in  the  burial  service 
of  the  Church  of  England  to  be  a  remarkable  and  solemn 
one,  "  O  Holy  and  Merciful  Saviour,  Thou  most  worthy 
Judge  Eternal,  suffer  us  not  at  our  last  hour,  for  any  pains 
of  death,  to  fall  from  Thee." 

Oh,  how  careful  we  need  to  be  of  the  plant  of  grace  I 
How  dilgently  we  need  to  guard  the  flame  of  piety,  amid 
the  rough  gusts  of  a  hostile  world  I  Asa's  prosperity 
proved— I  shall  not  say  his  ruin,  but  his  loss,  his  eternal 
loss.  It  may  have  added  to  the  lustre  of  his  earthly  crown, 
but  I  fear  it  dimmed  the  splendour  of  his  heavenly. 

Few  things  are  more  trying  to  a  man  than  success.  When 
George  Whitfield  was  preaching  on  one  occasion,  and  just  as 
he  stood  up  to  pray,  the  clerk  at  the  desk  below  read  out 
the  intimation,  ^'The  prayers  of  this  congregation  are 
earnestly  requested  in  behalf  of  a  young  man  who  has 
just  fallen  heir  to  a  large  fortune."  Well  did  that  young 
man  need  the  prayers  of  the  Lord's  people ;  for  it  is  very 
hard  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle.  I 
suppose  very  few  of  you  are  likely  to  fall  in  with  a  fortune. 
Still,  you  may  have,  and  I  trust  you  will  have,  good  success 
in  life.  There  have  been  many  young  men  in  these  seats, 
during  my  ministry  here,  who  had  no  better  prospects  than 
you,  and  are  now  rich  and  independent.  In  some  cases, 
prosperity  has  done  them  no  harm.  The  grace  of  God  has 
kept  them  humble  and  faithful  to  Him.  They  have  learnt 
to  consecrate  their  gains  to  Him  ;  and  they  have  His  bless- 
ing with  all  they  possess. 

Oh  that  I  could  persuade  every  one  of  you,  that    the 


Beginning  Well,  but  Ending  III      229 

Christian  life  is  the  only  truly  happy  life  1  "  The  blessing 
JS^says  Solomon,  ^^  it  maketh  rich."  ^e-mb^^^^^^^^^^^ 
is  a  Providence  that  shapes  our  ends,  rough  -hew  them  how 
we  my.  God  counts  for  something  in  His  own  httle  wor  d^ 
hI  is'the  mildew  as  well  as  the  rain ;  it  .s  easy  -th  H^^^^ 
to 'blight  or  to  bless.  To  make  money  is  a  good  thing, 
but  to  live  a  holy,  upright,  useful  life  is  better  far 

Start  all  of  you,  where  Asa  started ;  but  beware  of 
J  ng  off  the  rails  and  tumbling  over  the  embankment, 
Tthc  foot  of  which  lies  the  wreckage  ^^^^ 
Mind  you,  life,  considering  what  hinges  upon  it,  is  awfully 
fhortfthere  is  not  one  hour  of  it  to  be  thrown  away. 
'  Oh,"  said  one  who  died  last  week  in  the  prime  of  ,fe 
.if  I  had  my  Saviour  now  to  seek,  where  should  I  be? 
Thank  God,  that  matter  has  been  settled  k>ng  ago 

As  many  of  you  as  have  not  got  this  matter  settled 
settle  it  now;  and  then,  fearless  of  the  future,  step  forth 
crandly  towards  eternity. 

There  is  a  story  of  twelve   young  men  who  formed  a 
sort  of  club,  and   agreed    to  meet  once  a  year,  and  dme 
ogether   in    a   certain    room.      No    one   was   ever   to   be 
admitted  to  the  annual  gathering,  save  the  or.gmal  mem- 
bers   nor  was  the  number  ever  to  be  made  up  by  fresh 
election  as  they  died  off  or  disappeared.      -n>e^*°^  ?- 
on  to  tell  how  joyously  the  feasts  were  held  for  the  first 
L  years,  as  the  young  men  rose  in  the  world  or  marned 
L  Lied  into  happy  family  life;  and  then  after  a  fme 
how  there  came  to  be  a  vacant  chair,  and  a  health  d-k" 
siknce  to  the  one  who  would  never  take  his  place  there 
aixL     As  years  rolled  on,  another  and  another  seat  was 
emTty.      The  men  who  survived  grew  old,  and  clasped 
each  other's  hands  mournfully,  as  they  sat  -"--^  -""^ 
the  long  table.     It  was  always  the  same  room,  the  same 
lights,  and  wine,  and  flowers ;  but  the  faces  around  .t  were 


230 


Talks  with   Voting  Men. 


withered  and  changed.  There  came  a  year  when  only 
two  old  men  sat  down  together,  and  named,  over  their 
trembling  glasses,  all  the  brothers  who  once  occupied  the 
empty  places  beside  them.  And  then  there  was  one 
anniversary  more.  The  long  table  was  laid  as  usual,  and 
the  people  of  the  house  where  the  club  had  so  long  met 
wondered  whether  any  guest  would  arrive;  and,  at  the 
appointed  hour,  there  entered  an  aged  man,  who  tottered 
feebly  to  his  usual  seat,  and,  after  toying  a  little  with  the 
food  before  him,  lapsed  into  stillness,  and  was  left  alone. 
When  the  room  was  entered  again,  some  hours  later,  the 
old  man  was  dead.     All  were  gone. 

The  same  process  is  going  on  every  day,  though,  amid  the 
interlacings  and  overlappings  of  society,  we  do  not  so  im- 
pressively perceive  it.  Ah  I  it  is  a  touching  thought  that 
some  of  you,  my  dear  brothers,  are  destined  for  an  early 
grave ;  and,  possibly,  it  is  the  most  robust  of  you  that  shall 
first  be  called.  There  are  but  few  here  who  shall  live  to  be 
old  men,  and,  perhaps,  the  last  survivor  of  all  is  the  least 
to  be  envied  :  for  it  is  sad  when  one  has  to  sigh,  in  the 
words  of  Moore — 

•*  I  feel  like  one 

Who  treads  alone 
Some  banquet-hall  deserted  f 

Whose  lights  are  fled, 

Whose  garlands  dead. 
And  all  but  he  departed." 

But,  be  your  life  a  long  or  a  short  one,  the  grand  thing  is 
to  spend  it  in  the  service  of  God,  and  for  the  good  of  your 
fellow  men.  Do  not  say  that  temptations  are  too  strong  for 
you :  for  the  clear  assurance  is  given,  that  '*  He  is  able  to 
keep  you  from  falling."  Only  go  to  Christ  for  strength,  and 
it  shall  not  be  wanting.  "  The  Lord  is  with  you,  while  ye 
be  with  Him  :  and  if  ye  seek  Him,  He  will  be  found  of 
you  :  but  if  ye  forsake  Him,  He  will  forsake  you." 


BURIED   WITH  THE   BURIAL   OF  AN  ASS. 


**He  shall  be  buried  with  the  burial  tf  an  ass,  drawn  and  cast  mtk 
beyond  the  gates  of /erusalefn,**—]^^.  xxii.  19. 


H> 


r^ 


u 


XVIL 
BURIED   WITH  THE  BURIAL   OF  AN  ASS. 

OF  whom  speaketh  the  prophet  this  ?  "  Who  was  it 
that  was  doomed  to  so  ignominious  an  end  ?  It 
was  Jehoiakim,  one  of  Josiah's  sons,  and  king  of  Judah 
about  600  years  before  Christ.  His  reign  lasted  ten  years. 
They  were  ten  years  of  extortion  and  iniquity.  Ten  years 
of  sensuality  and  luxury.  Ten  years  of  the  basest  selfish- 
ness. Ten  years  of  covetousness  and  avarice.  He  lived 
for  himself,  and  did  no  good  to  others.  It  was  a  mean, 
ignoble  existence.  There  was  not  one  in  Jerusalem  who 
respected  him.  He  was  hated  while  he  lived ;  and  when 
he  died  they  kicked  his  carcase  out  of  the  city.  He  was 
"  buried  with  the  burial  of  an  ass,  drawn  and  cast  forth 
beyond  the  gates  of  Jerusalem." 

Less  than  a  hundred  years  ago  there  was  a  spectacle  not 
unfrequently  to  be  seen  by  one  sailing  down  the  river 
Thames,  which  must  have  left  a  deep  impression  on  the 
eye.  In  those  times  the  gate  of  old  London  Bridge  was 
often  garnished  with  human  heads ;  and  at  various  points 
down  the  riverside  the  bodies  of  dead  men  who  had  been 
notorious  criminals  were  gibbeted,  exposed  to  public  view, 
and  left  to  rot  or  wither  in  the  sun.  By  this  means  the 
authorities  sought  to  frighten  and  deter  the  onlookers  from 
piracy  and  other  crimes.  The  warning,  though  ghastly, 
was  not  durable.     In  course   of  time  the  hideous  forms. 


\ 


Talks  with   Yozcng  Men. 


234 

wasted  by  decay,  dropped  to  pieces,  and  nothing  remained 
to  preach  the  silent  but  awful  lesson. 

I   look   upon  the   brief  story    of  Jehoiakim   as   such  a 
warning,  and  a  warning  mainly  to  young  men.     That  piece 
of  incarnate  selfishness  is  here  gibbeted  before  the  eyes  of 
successive   generations,  held  up   to   universal   scorn,  and, 
unlike  the  wasting  skeletons  on  the  river  bank,  as  eloquent 
and  effective  in  its  teaching  to-day  as  ever.     We   see  the 
doom  of  the  avaricious  man,  the  man  intent  on  pleasure 
and  gain,  and  unscrupulous  as  to  the  means  by  which  they 
are  acquired ;  and  we  are  reminded  of  the  words  of  this 
same  prophet  in  the  17th  chapter  and   nth  verse,  ''As  the 
partridge  sitteth  on  eggs,  and  hatcheth  them  not,  so  he  that 
getteth  riches,  and  not  by  right,  shall  leave  them  in  the 
midst  of  his  days,  and  at  his  end  shall  be  a  fool." 

Although  Jehoiakim  was  the  elder  son  of  King  Josiah, 
he  was  not  on   his  father's  death  advanced  to  the  throne. 
The   people  of  the  land,  we  are  told,   made  his  younger 
brother   Shallum  king.      Shallum,  I  should  observe,  was 
also  named  Jehoahaz,   and  as  such  is  referred  to  m  the 
Second    Book  of  Kings.     Indeed,  Jehoiakim,   too,  had  his 
name  changed  ;  he  was  originally  known  as  Eliakim  ;  but 
when  Pharaoh-Necho  had  succeeded  in  getting  him  under 
his  power,  for  some  reason  which  is  not  assigned,  he  gave 
him  the  name  which  we  find  in  this  chapter.     Well,  as  for 
the  character  of  the  two  brothers,  there  was  not  much  to 
choose  between  them.     They  were  both  bad.     But  I  fancy 
the  elder  one  was  the  most  offensive  in  his  wickedness. 
Such  is  often  the  case.     An  elder  brother  has  considerable 
influence,  and  if  that  influence  is  bad,  it  is  likely  to  be  very 
bad.     I  suppose  the  people  said,   "  If  a  son  of  Josiah  is  to 
reign  over  us,  let  it  be  Shallum  ;  we  won't  have  Eliakim. 
I  think  he  made  himself  obnoxious  by  his  selfishness  and 
insolence,  and  high-handed  wickedness.     He  was  a  last. 


-^ 


4. 


Buried  with  the  Burial  of  an  Ass,     235 

extravagant  youth,  and  the  people  would  have  nothing  to 
do  with  him.  The  luxuries  and  immunities  of  his  high 
station  as  prince  of  the  royal  blood  were  too  much  for  him. 
Many  is  the  man  who  has  good  reason  to  be  thankful 
that  he  was  born  on  an  humble  level.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
once  scratched  on  a  window-pane,  in  the  presence  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  the  words  : — 

**  Fain  would  I  climb,  but  that  I  fear  to  fall?* 

The  Queen  wrote  beneath  them  : — 

*'  If  thy  heart  fail  thee,  why  then  climb  at  all,* 

Although  young  Shallum  was  by  the  popular  voice  called 
to  the  throne,  he  did  not  occupy  it  long.  In  three  short 
months  he  was  removed  by  the  powerful  king  of  Egypt, 
and  carried  off  in  chains  to  a  distant  exile  from  which  he 
never  returned.  The  people  seem  to  have  been  much 
touched  by  his  short,  sad  history.  They  sang  sad  dirges 
over  him. 

To  the  fond  attachment  which  a  large  party  in  Scotland 
cherished  towards  the  exiled  line  of  kings  after  the  revolu- 
tion of  1688,  and  to  their  chivalrous  devotion  to  the  young 
prince  of  the  House  of  Stuart,  we  owe  the  plaintive  beauty 
of  what  are  called  the  "  Jacobite  Songs.*'  I  am  reminded 
of  some  of  them  as  I  read  in  the  tenth  verse  :  "  Weep  ye 
not  for  the  dead,  neither  bemoan  him  :  but  weep  sore  for 
him  that  goeth  away ;  for  he  shall  return  no  more,  nor  see 
his  native  country." 

The  sad  fate  of  Shallum  .  might  have  taught  his  brother 
a  lesson ;  but  it  didn't.  Placed  by  Pharaoh,  to  suit  his  own 
ends,  on  the  throne  of  Judah,  he  was  hated  by  the  people, 
and  did  nothing  to  propitiate  them.  As  the  mere  tool  or 
vassal  of  the  King  of  Egypt,  he  mulcted  his  impoverished 
subjects  in  a  sum  of  over  forty  thousand  pounds,  as  compen- 
sation for  the  part  which  Josiah  had  taken  in  the  war  between 


' 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


236 

the  monarchs  of  Egypt  and  Babylon ;  and  whilst  he  made  the 
people  suffer,   he  himself  lived  on  a   scale  of  sumptuous 
extravagance;  indeed,  his  character  is  photographed  here  in 
the  thirteenth  and  following  verses,  where  Heaven's  anathema 
is  pronounced  upon  him  :  -  Woe  unto  him  that  buildeth  his 
house  by  unrighteousness,  and  his  chambers  by  wrong  ;  that 
useth  his  neighbour's  service  without  wages,  and  giveth  him 
not  for  his  work ;  that  saith,  I  will  build  me  a  wide  house  and 
large  chambers,  and  cutteth  him  out  windows ;  and  it  is 
ceiled  with  cedar,  and  painted  with  vermiUion.     Shalt  thou 
reign  because  thou  closest  thyself  in  cedar  ?     Did  not  thy 
father  eat  and  drink,  and  do  judgment  and  justice,  and  then 
it  was  well  with  him?     He  judged  the  cause  of  the  poor 
and  needy ;  then  it  was  well  with  him ;  was  not  this  to 
know  Me  ?  saith  the  Lord.     But  thine  eyes  and  thine  heart 
are  not  but  for  thy  covetousness." 

So  selfish  a  life  was  to  be  followed  by  a  most  inglorious 
death  No  one  would  lament  him,  or  shed  a  single  tear 
over  his  memory.  And  thus  it  came  to  pass :  for  m  the 
eleventh  year  of  his  reign  Jehoiakim  came  to  a  violent 
death.  His  body  was  cast  out  ignominiously  upon  the 
ground,  and  after  being  for  some  time  exposed,  was  dragged 
away  and  buried  outside  the  gates  of  Jerusalem,  as  though 
it  had  been  the  carcase  of  an  ass. 

Were  I  asked  to  compress  into  a  single  sentence  the 
moral  of  Jehoiakim's  career,  the  Divine  Master  Himself 
would  supply  the  language,  "Take  heed,  and  beware  of 
covetousnessr  Some  plain-spoken  words  on  this  subject 
may  not  be  taken  amiss.  "Thou  shalt  not  covet, 
though  the  last,  it  is  not  by  any  means  the  least  of  the 
Ten  Commandments;  but  I  am  much  mistaken  if  it  is  not 
the  commandment  we  think  least  of  breaking.  We  covet 
on  a  wholesale  scale,  but  conscience  gives  us  no  trouble. 
Covetousness  is  greed   of  money;   it  is  more;   it  is  the 


Buried  with  the  Burial  of  an  Ass.     237 

worship  of  money;  for  the  apostle  calls  it  '' idolatry,"  which 
just  means  that  we  make  gain  our  idol,  and  then  worship 
it.  If  you  take  the  answer  to  the  first  question  in  the 
Shorter  Catechism,  and  introduce  one  letter,  you  will 
have  the  ereed  of  the  covetous  man.  "  Man's  chief  end  is 
to  glorify  gold,  and  to  enjoy  it  for  ever." 


<i 


Gold  !  gold  !  gold  !  gold  ! 

Bright  and  yellow,  hard  and  cold  ; 

Spurned  by  the  young,  but  hugged  by  tT>e  old 

To  the  very  verge  of  the  churchyard  mould  ; 

Price  of  many  a  crime  untold  ! 

Gold  !  gold  !  gold  !  gold  I " 

Covetousness  breeds  misery.  Never  has  disappointment 
more  bitterly  stung  the  human  heart  than  in  the  case  of 
those — and  their  name  is  legion — who  im.agined  that,  had 
they  only  such  and  such  an  amount  of  money,  they  would 
be  perfectly  happy;   obtained   the  money,  and  were  less 

happy  than  before. 

One  day  during  the  past  week,  I  was  pointed  out  the 
beautiful  properly  of  a  man  who  had  risen  from  the  position 
of  a  common  labourer  to  be  a  man  of  wealth.  Charming  re- 
sidence ;  extensive  grounds ;  lovely  garden ;  well-appointed 
stables ;  everything,  one  would  think,  to  make  life  agreeable ; 
and  yet,  I  was  told,  that  man  acknowledged  he  was  a  far 
happier  being  when  he  was  earning  a  couple  of  shillings 
a  day  than  he  is  now,  when  rolling  in  abundance. 

What  is  the  moral  of  this  ?  Is  it  that  wealth  is  in  itself 
an  evil  thing,  or  necessarily  a  source  of  evil  ?  By  no  means. 
Solomon  truly  wrote,  '*  Money  is  a  defence,"  as  "Wisdom 
is  a  defence."  It  is  not  money,  but  "  the  love  of  money," 
that  is  "  the  root  of  all  evil."  When  a  man  eagerly  covets 
it,  comes  by  it  dishonourably,  and  spends  it  unworthily, 
then  it  is  indeed  an  evil. 

Covetousness  grows  on  one.     This  gluttony  of  money  is 


I 


-r 


238 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


an  insidious  disease.  Like  fire,  the  more  fuel  it  has,  the 
hotter  it  burns.  It  is  unreasoning ;  its  converts  its  subject 
into  a  fool,  and  destroys  his  judgment.  Christ  tells  a  story 
of  a  prosperous  farmer  who  was  clean  intoxicated  with 
success,  and  could  not  entertain  a  thought  but  of  his  gains, 
—how  the  very  night  that  he  had  decided  on  the  enlarge- 
ment  of  his  premises,  a  voice  -from  heaven  called  his  soul 
away;  and  whatever  monument  with  fiattering  title  his 
friends  may  have  erected  over  his  grave,  God  wrote  his 
epitaph,  in  one  word  of  four  letters,  and  two  of  these 
letters  the  same,  "  Fool  I "  "  Buried  with  the  burial  of  an 

ass  1 " 

No  one  will  for  a  moment  suppose  that  a  splendid 
catafalque  and  imposing  funeral  obsequies  betoken  the 
close  of  a  noble  and  honourable  life.  Ah  1  many  a  man 
is  laid  in  one  of  yonder  cemeteries  with  every  form  of 
ceremonial  pomp,  with  gilt,  and  nodding  plumes,  and  long 
rows  of  carriages,  and  costly  wreaths;  and  if  the  truth 
were  told,  a  nuisance  is  being  got  rid  of;  the  world  will  be 
the  better  now  that  he  has  gone  ! 

Well  might  the  artless  child,  who  had  been  wandering 
among  the  tombstones,  and  reading  the  epitaphs,  turn  to 
its  mother  and  ask,  "  Mother,  where  are  all  the  had  people 

buried  ?" 

It  is  quite  startling  to  notice  in  what  terms  God  refers  to 
this  sin,  which  sits  so  lightly  on  the  conscience  of  most 
men— this  sin  of  covetousness.  By  heavy  woes,  and  awful 
denunciations,  and  solemn  warnings.  He  intimates  to  us 
how  fearful  is  the  guilt,  and  how  black  the  doom,  of  those 
who  set  their  hearts  on  earthly  gain ;  the  inspired  Psalmist 
even   declaring   that   "the   Lord   abhorreth   the   covetous 

man." 

Secondly.     In  the  doom  of  Jehoiakim  we  have  a  warning 
against  dishonourableness.     It  was  not   merely  in  that  he 


Buried  with  the  Burial  of  an  Ass.     239 

coveted  gain,  but  in  that  he  procured  it  by  over-reaching 
and  fraud,  that  he  so  incurred  the  displeasure  of  God  and 
the  contempt  of  man.  We  are  told  of  him  in  the  thirteenth 
verse,  that  he  ''  built  his  house  by  unrighteousness  and  his 
chambers  by  wrong ;  that  he  used  his  neighbour's  service 
without  wages,  and  gave  him  not  for  his  work."  Exactly. 
This  was  just  a  genteel,  a  royal  way  of  stealing. 

There  is  a  great  deal  of  covert  dishonesty  in  the  world. 
Many  a  man  who  would  revolt  from  the  idea  of  robbing  a 
till,  or  picking  a  pocket,  is,  from  the  way  in  which  he  con- 
ducts business,  just  as  truly  entitled  to  the  name  of  "  thief." 
We  all  know  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  roguery  in  trade 
and  commerce,  on  which,  though  perhaps  the  law  cannot 
touch  it,  God  Almighty  looks  with  a  frown.     There  are 
men   who   have   made   their   fortunes   by   wholesale   dis- 
honesty, and  are  driving  their  splendid  equipages,  every 
sycophant  bowing  them   respect :  whilst  the  poor  wretch 
who  has  stolen  a  loaf  gets  a  ride  to  Holloway  in  a  City  van, 
without  the  opportunity  of  looking  out  of  the  window. 

The  fraudulent  man  is  found  at  all  levels  of  society. 
Here  in  our  passage  we  find  him  on  the  highest  rung  of  the 
ladder— we  find  him  as  a  king.  There  is  something  pecu- 
liarly mean  in  the  dishonesty  of  such  a  man.  When  I 
see  Jehoiakim  engaging  the  services  of  workmen  and  not 
paying  them  their  wages,  I  feel  for  him  the  utmost  con- 
tempt. I  suppose  he  managed,  in  some  way  or  other,  to 
wriggle  out  of  his  obligation.  Such  men  are  often  very 
subtle  and  clever.  They  cheat  their  neighbours  without 
seeming  to  do  so.  By  a  few  strokes  of  a  lying  pen,  they 
•  commit  bigger  robberies  than  any  burglar  that  is  now  in 

a  prison  cell. 

Let  us  be  certain,  that  money  got  by  deceit  will  never 
bring  happiness  to  the  getter.  Job  uses  terrible  language 
regarding  the  fraudulent  man  when  he  says,  "  He  swallowed 


240 


Talks  with   Young  Me7u 


down  riches,  but  shall  vomit  them  up  again;'*  but  how 
often  have  we  seen  this  fulfilled  I 

I  have  heard  young  men  speak  in  this  way,  that,  having 
exerted  all  their  industry,  and  energy,  and  skill,  and  perse- 
verance to  make  money,  and  having  failed,  they  are 
justified  in  resorting  to  other  and  meaner  methods.  Such 
logic  is  bad.  If  you  have  exhausted  all  honourable  means, 
and  yet  are  in  poverty,  it  is  just  a  possible  thing  that  God 
means  you  to  be  poor,  at  least  to  exercise  patience.  If 
fraud  is  necessary  to  success,  are  you  prepared  to  accept 
success  on  such  a  condition?  "You  say  you  cannot  be 
truthful,  and  straightforward,  and  be  rich.  Very  well,  then, 
be  poor.  Some  men  get  woefully  soured  in  spirit  when 
they  do  not  meet  with  the  success  that  others  find.  They 
get  angry  with  everybody,  and  think  the  whole  course  of 
the  world  is  out  of  order,  and  more  than  impugn  tlie 
justice  of  God,  because  they  happen  to  be  in  straits  and 
difficulties.  But  every  poor  man  is  not  wicked.  And 
if  some  good  men   are   poor,   may  you  not  be  one  of  the 

number  ? 

The  worship  of  mere  success  is  one  of  the  greatest  errors 
of  our  day.  The  successful  man  is  applauded,  no  matter 
how  he  has  made  his  money.  From  the  gambling  peer  to 
the  unprincipled  mechanic,  it  is  just  the  same.  "  Men  will 
praise  thee  if  thou  doest  well  to  thyself."  But  what  is 
success,  if  the  curse  of  Heaven  be  on  it  ?  To  what  purpose 
will  be  all  the  benedictions  and  congratulations  of  men,  if 
the  "  woe  "  of  Almighty  God  is  pronounced  upon  you  ? 

A  young  man  stood  behind  the  counter  selling  goods  to 
a  lady.  As  he  was  putting  up  the  parcel,  he  said  to  the 
customer,  "  Madam,  I  notice  a  slight  fiaw  in  that  piece  of 
silk."  The  lady  perceived  it,  and  the  piece  was  left  unsold. 
The  manager  of  that  department  observed  what  was  going 
on,  and  immediately  wrote  to  the  lad's  father  in  the  country, 


Buried  with  the  Burial  of  an  Ass.     241 

"Your  son  is  not  sharp  enough  for  business;  he  will  never 
make  a  merchant."  The  father,  who  was  a  Christian  man, 
came  up  to  town  to  make  inquiry,  and  when  he  found  out 
what  the  facts  were,  said  to  the  head  of  the  establishment, 
"  I  am  proud  of  my  boy,  and  would  never'  wish  him  to  act 
otherwise   than   he    has  done ;  God  will  provide  another 

opening  for  him." 

My  dear  young  brother,  remember,  you  may  have  goods 
to  sell,  but  you  have  a  soul  to  save.  It  is  no  sin  to  be  rich, 
but  it  is  a  sin  to  acquire  riches  at  the  sacrifice  of  a  good 

conscience.  /•  n         j 

It  is  no  sin  to  be  rich.     If  you  earn  money  lawfully  and 
spend   it   usefully,   it  is  only   a  blessing.     1  wish  I  had 
Xio.ooo  a  year.     There  is  so  much  suffering  to  be  reheved, 
so  much  poverty  to  be  mitigated,  so  much  good  to  be  done, 
I  wish  I  had  the  means  to  meet  every  such  appeal.     But, 
alas  for  the  man  who  has  nothing  but  money  I     Christ  tells 
us  of  such  a  man  ;  and,  think  you,  was  Dives  to  be  envied  ? 
What  became  of  all  his  wealth,  his  fine  house,  his  sump- 
tuous  table,  his  stock  of  wine,  his  kennel  of  dogs,  when 
God  called    his   soul  away  ?     "  He  was  buried  with   the 
burial   of  an  ass ; "  and  the  poorest  man  on  the  roadside, 
who  watched  his  funeral,  was  happier  than  the  dead  miser. 
"Woe  to  him  who  buildeth  his  house  by  unrighteousness  1 

I  remark  in  the  third  and  last  place,  that  in  the  doom  of 
Jehoiakimwe  have  a  warning  against  a  life  oi  seljish"'^^- 
The  miserable  man  thought  of  nothing  but  his  own  aggran- 
disement and  comfort.  What  mattered  it  to  him  though 
his  subjects  were  overtaxed,  and  many  of  them  starving,  so 
long  as  his  own  table  was  richly  supplied  ?  What  cared 
he  though  hundreds  were  living  in  wretched  hovels,  if  his 
own  palace  were  ample  and  luxuriously  furnished  ?  He 
went  in  for  style  and  elegance.  He  said,  "  I  must  have  a 
wide  house  and  spacious  apartments,  and  windows  elabo- 

i6 


Talks  with   Young  Men. 


242 

rately  cut  out;  my  ceilings  must  be  all  of  -d-,  and  my 
walls  painted  with  the  richest  colours.  Jhus  h.s  one 
th.  .ht  was  self.  All  for  number  one.  But  ^^y,  d'd  he 
make  a  good  bargain?  Was  he  one  ^^  ^^ ;-^^f' J^^ 
sure  of  this,  that  the  man  who  lives  only  fo^^J' J^^ 
out  of  the  world  less  real  happiness  than  any  other  mortal, 
and  when  he  dies  is  least  regretted. 

"  His  heart  is  like  the  rock,  where  san  nor  dew 
Can  rear  a  single  flower  of  heavenly  hue. 
No  thought  of  mercy  there  may  have  Us  birth, 
For  helpless  misery,  or  for  suffering  worth  ; 
The  orphan's  waitings,  and  the  widow's  woe. 
From  mercy's  fountain  cause  no  tears  to  flow  ; 
He  pours  no  cordial  in  the  wounds  of  pam, 
Unlocks  no  prison,  and  unclasps  no  cham  ;  ,  , 

The  end  of  all  his  life  is  paltry  pelf, 
And  all  his  thoughts  are  centred  on  himself; 
The  wretch  of  both  worlds  :  for  so  mean  a  sum,      ^ 
First  starved  in  this,  then  damned  in  that  to  come. 

Most  earnestly  would  I  exhort  -ery  young  brother  wh^^^^^ 
my  words  can  reach,  to  start  m  hfe  with  the  fi^^^  ^"^ 

^  .hot   Vii«i    existence  shall   be   made   a 

deliberate   purpose   that   his    existence 

blessing  to  others.  The  common  theory  no  doubt,  on 
wh  ch  \  youth  enters  on  business  is  to  make  provision  for 
r'mself ;  to  turn  everything  to  account  for  his  own  advan- 
t  Te,  and  not  to  deem  it  incumbent,  at  least  for  many  a  year 
to%ome,  to  devote  a  portion  of  his  gams  to  objects  of 
charity,  religion,  and  philanthropy. 

This  is  entirely  wrong.  As  you  mean  to  end  life,  so 
should  you  begin  it.  The  principles  which  you  would 
vYsh  to  rule  L  last  ten  years  of  your  existence  shoud 
;;  e  the  first  ten  years.  On  the  same  '■"-  -  J^'f  ^ 
would  act  with  a  thousand  a  year,  you  should  act  with 
would   act  witn  excellent  young 

twenty  shiUings  a  weeK.      1  Know  wc  Th»v 

fellows  amongst  us  who  do  not  need  such  counsel.     They 


\ 


. 


Buried  with  the  Burial  of  an  Ass.     243 

already  practise   it.     One  young  man,  on  his   arrival^  in 
London  to  fill  a  situation,  came  to  me  and  s-d       jsh 
from  the  outset,  from  the  earning  of  my  first  sh.lhng  to 
devote  a  tenth  of  my  gains  to  the  Lord  ;  my  salary  is  j;70 , 
how  can  I  best  lay  out  £l  a  year  for  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  good  of  others?"      There  are  many  who  act  on  the 
same  principle,  though   on   a   different   scale.       I  am  no 
gorng  to   sugg  St  any  particular  ratio  or  proportion ;  but 
wTaf  I  do  most  emphatically  lay  upon  the  conscience  of 
Tveii  one  of  you  is  the  duty  of  making  your  life,  even  now, 
tributary  to  the  good  of  others.  ,.=   «The  verv 

The  vouth  who  tosses  his  head  and  sneers,     The  very 
idea'      Time  enough  for  me  to  think  of  other  people  when 
tve  feathered  my  own  nest  well,"  belongs  to  a  low  type, 
and  in  all  likelihood  will  remain  a  --;.  ^l^^^.  J"  i'^^^'"^. 
He  will  earn  little  respect  whilst  he  hves,  and  when  he 
dies  "will  be  buried  with  the  burial  of  an  ass.      If  there 
1  Lything  generous  and  noble  in  a  man,  tt  should  come 
r.,it  nt  the  very  beginning  of  his  career. 
°"one  of  the'finest  epitaphs  I  ever  read  on  a  tombstone 
was  in  these  words,  "He  lived  for  others/'     Oh, Jet  none 
of  you  merit  the  inscription,  "  He  lived  for  self. 

It  would  be  easy  to  apply  these  principles  in  a  practical 
way  to  the  subject  of  /,/.  insurance.  It  is  a  good  ^nd 
wholesome  discipline  for  a  young  man,  as  -U  as  j.se 
Tnd  right  in  the  interest  of  dear  ones  whom  the  future 
Tav  raise  up  around  him,  to  set  apart  a  sum  out  of  his 
'  ^eTrirncon^  fo,  this  purpose,  and  of  -rse  the  soo  e 
ft  is  done,  the  better.      Sternly,  determinately  fight  the 

LtieU  self.  If  you  C-- --- 7j:  ,:;r 

nobler  victor  than  Alexander,  or  Caesar,  or  t.         f 
nobler  vicior  strength,  as  well 

But  you  must  go  to  Chnst  lor  P  ^^^  ^^.^ 

as  for  the  perfect  example.     Verily,   He  pi 
own  self.     His  life  was  given   to  the  good  of  others. 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


244 

at  last  w-s  sacrificed  for  those  who  had  no  claim  upon 

His  love. 

Aided  by  His  grace,  make  His  steps  your  own.  Do 
good  to  all  as  you  have  opportunity.  God  forbid  that  any 
one  here  should  drag  out  a  mean,  sordid,  selfish,  and 
ignoble  life,  so  that,  when  he  dies,  he  will  merely  be 
shovelled  out  of  the  way,  ^'  buried  with  the  burial  of  an 
ass,"  and  go  down 

«*To  the  vile  dust  from  which  he  sprung, 
Unwept,  unhonoured,  and  unsung." 

May  your  lot  and  mine  rather  be,  so  to  use  our  talents, 
be  they  great  or  small,   for  the  good  of  others,  and  the 
glory  of  God,  that  when  our  term   is  ended,  many  shall 
deplore  our  exit,  and  bless  our  memory ;  and  though  no 
marble  monument  may  mark  the  spot  where  our  ashes 
lie,  nor  flattering  epitaph  record  our  virtues  on  the  stone, 
regretful  mourners  shall  whisper  as  they  pass,   ''  Blessed 
are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord  ;  yea,  saith  the  Spirit, 
that  they  may  rest  from  their  labours ;  and  their  works 
do  follow  them." 


2HE  RIGHT  SORT  OF  FRIEND. 


"  And  Jonathan,  SauVs  son,  arose  and  went  to  David  into  the  wood 
and  strengthened  his  hand  in  God:*—i  Sam.  xxiii.  16. 


#< 


XVIII. 
THE  RIGHT  SORT  OF  FRIEND. 

THE  cascj^  to  put  it  as  briefly  as  possible,  was  this. 
Word  had  come  to  the  brave  and  geherous-hearted 
David,  that  the  Philistines,  those  constant  plagues  and 
enemies  of  Israel,  had  come  up  against  the  city  of  Keilah, 
and  were  committing  wholesale  plunder  upon  the  people. 

It  was  now  the  close  of  the  harvest,  and  the  thrashing- 
floors  were  filled  with  grain ;  so  these  unscrupulous 
marauders  set  upon  the  corn,  and  were  busy  carrying  it 
away  from  the  defenceless  citizens. 

As  soon  as  David  heard  of  this,  he  felt  a  strong  impulse 
to  go  and  smite  the  Philistines ;  and  having  sought  and 
obtained  the  Divine  sanction,  he  went  down  with  his  little 
army  to  Keilah,  and  not  only  drove  out  the  invaders,  but 
recovered  a  good  portion*  of  the  spoil. 

For  this  valiant  and  heroic  deed,  Saul,  as  king  of  Israel, 
should  have  felt  indebted  to  David ;  but,  such  was  the 
fierce  jealousy  that  he  entertained  toward  the  young  and 
popular  warrior,  that,  instead  of  feeling  any  emotion  of 
gratitude  to  him  for  rescuing  one  of  his  cities  from  the 
hated  foe,  he  thought  he  had  now  found  the  opportunity 
for  entrapping  him  and  taking  his  life. 

Keilah,  as  it  so  happened,  was  a  walled  town  with  gates 
and  bars ;  so,  says  Saul  to  himself,  I  shall  shut  him  in, 
beyond  the  chance  of  escape.  Ungrateful  wretch  as  he 
was,  his  baseness  was  quite  equalled  by  that  of  the  in- 


J 


248 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


habitants  of  Keilah,  who,  notwithstanding  all  that  David 
had  done  for  them,  were  prepared  to  deliver  him  into  his 
enemy's  hand.  Of  this  David  received  direct  intimation 
from  God ;  so,  gathering  his  army  around  him,  he  rose  and 
departed  out  of  Keilah,  and,  as  is  touchingly  narrated  here, 
"  went  whithersoever  he  could  go." 

Now,  I  should  mention  that  the  situation  of  this  little 
town  was  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Judaean  hills,  about 
twenty  miles  south  of  Jerusalem.  The  character  of  the 
surrounding  country  was  varied,  consisting  as  it  did  partly 
of  dry  and  unproductive  desert  land  and  partly  of  natural 
forest,  the  dark  olive  trees  and  clumps  of  shaggy  oaks 
affording  convenient  shelter  and  concealment  to  persons 
seeking  to  hide  themselves  from  the  pursuer.  This  explains 
the  language  of  our  passage,  which  represents  David  as  "  in 
the  wilderness,"  ^*  in  the  mountain,"  and  ''  in  the  wood  "  ; 
for,  as  "Saul  sought  him  every  day,"  he  would  find  it 
needful  to  change  his  quarters,  now  hiding  in  some  rocky 
ravine,  and  now  in  some  woody  grove. 

I  do  not  for  a  moment  doubt  that,  amid  the  dreary 
solitude  of  the  forest  of  Ziph,  David  realised  the  un- 
speakable comfort  of  the  presence  of  his  God,  and  was 
enabled  to  commit  himself  to  His  care ;  but,  in  addition 
to  this  highest  source  of  consolation,  it  was  his  privilege 
to  have  the  sympathy  and  companionship  of  a  human 
friend,  in  the  person  of  the  faithful  and  warm-hearted 
Jonathan,  the  son  of  Saul.  I  scarcely  know  an  incident 
in  Scripture  history  more  full  of  interest  and  of  a  tender 
and  beautiful  pathos  than  the  close,  I  might  call  it  the 
romantic,  friendship  that  sprang  up  between  these  two 
young  men. 

Not  in  all  profane  history,  not,  I  believe,  even  in  modem 
works  of  fiction,  has  there  been  anything  to  surpass  it. 
"  The  soul  of  Jonathan  was  knit  with  the  soul  of  David. 


J 


J 


The  Right  Sort  of  Friend.  249 

and  Jonathan  loved  him  as  his  own  soul."  "Thy  love 
to  me,"  said  David,  "was  wonderful,  passing  the  love  ot 
women."  Each  found  in  the  other  an  affection  that  he 
found  not  in  his  own  family,  an  affection  which  seems  to 
have  commenced  on  the  day  of  David's  return  from  the 
victory  over  Goliath,  and  which  continued  without  a  single 
break  or  shadow  till  death  divided  them. 

This  ardent  friendship  was,  on  three  separate  occasions, 
confirmed  by  a  solemn  covenant.  The  first  occasion  was 
shortly  after  the  acquaintanceship  had  been  formed,  and 
when  as  yet  the  envy  of  King  Saul  had  not  been  stirred. 
We  are  told  that  Jonathan  and  David  made  a  covenant, 
and,  as  a  pledge  of  it,  Jonathan  gave  him  his  royal  mantle, 
his  sword,  his  girdle,  and  his  bow. 

The  next  occasion  was  when  Saul,  through  an  insane 
jealousy,  was  planning  measures  to  take  David's  life,  and 
the  latter  had  to  make  his  escape.  His  true-hearted  com- 
panion found  him  out,  and  had  a  secret  interview  with  him 
at  the  rock  Ezel,  where  the  two  young  men  renewed  their 
covenant,  and  as  we  read,  ''Jonathan  caused  David  to 
swear  again,  because  he  loved  him  ;  for  he  loved  him  as 
he  loved  his  own  soul." 

Their  mutual  affection  seems  then  to  have  become  even 
more  intense  than  it  had  been  before.  With  passionate 
embraces  and  tears  did  they  "plight  their  troth,"  and,  as 
the  historian  says,  "they  kissed  one  another,  and  wept 
with  one  another,  until  David  exceeded." 

Only  once  more  were  they  to  meet,  and  it  is  that  final 
meeting  that  our  text  records.  As  though  they  had  a 
presentiment  that  they  were  now  to  be  for  ever  parted 
on  earth,  and  remembered  that  "a  threefold  cord  is  not 
qtiickly  broken,'*  they  made  a  covenant  again,  the  pious 
Jonathan  at  the  same  time  commending  his  loved  friend 
to  God,  and  cheering  him  by  the  promises  of  His  word. 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


250 

<'  And  Jonathan,  Saul's  son,  arose  and  went  to  David 
into  the  wood,  and  strengthened  his  hand  in  God." 

This  text  suggests  four  practical  lessons,  which  I  pray 
God  to  write  upon  your  hearts  to-night. 

I  To  Possess  a  leal  and  trusty  friend  is  one  0/  the  greatest 
\  \  of  earthly  blessings.  "To  be  without  friends,"  said  Lord 
'  Bacon  "is  to  find  the  world  a  wilderness."  No  man  can 
live  in  a  state  of  isolation  from  his  fellows,  or,  if  he  can, 
I  was  going  to  say  he  is  not  a  man ;  at  least  the  human 
element  in  him  is  almost  imperceptible.  God  intended  us 
for  society.  He  has  given  us  an  instinct  that  makes  us  crave 
for  fellowship  with  others  and  feel  miserable  if  we  cannot 

^^Vch  of  us  yearns  for  a  heart  that  beats  in  unison  with 
our  own,  an  ear  into  which  we  can  pour  our  confidences 
and  our  troubles,  a  hand  we  can  safely  grasp,  and  an  arm  we 
can  always  lean  on.  It  is  not  only  when  we  are  in  sorrow 
and  difficulty  that  we  feel  this,  not  only  when  burdens 
oppress  us,  and  trials  come  thick  upon  us,  and  our  back  is 
to  the  wall ;  but  even  in  our  bright  and  prosperous  hours 
we  feel  that  joys  have  not  half  their  sweetness  unless 
we  have  one  or  more  companions  to  share  them  with  us. 

Whether  our  dwelling  be  a  castle  or  a  cabin,  our  troubles 
will  be  lighter  and  our  comforts  will  be  richer,  if  we  but 
have  one  with  us  in  thorough    sympathy  with  ourselves, 
who  makes  us  feel  that  our  joys  and  sorrows  are  his  like- 
wise.    Point  me  to  a  man  who  has  never  found  a  friend, 
I  know  no  one  on  earth  more  unhappy  than   he,   except 
the  man  who  has  never  sought  one.      If  isolation  breeds 
selfishness,  it  is  no  less  true  that  only  the  grossest  selfish- 
ness can  tolerate  isolation  ;  and  you  may  be  sure  of  it,  that 
if  there  be  a  man  so  entirely  bound  up  with  self  that  he 
does  not  care  to  have  associates,  he  is   about  the   most 
wretched  being  you  can  anywhere  meet  with. 


i: 


The  Right  Sort  of  Friend.  251 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  how  children,  from  their  earliest 
years,  by  a  kind  of  principle  of  natural  selection,  determine 
their  companionships.  Let  a  score  of  little  oues  be  sent  to 
an  infant  school,  it  will  not  be  many  days  before  special . 
affinities  are  developed,  and  little  confidential  groups  of  twos 
or  threes  will  tell  that  close  friendships  have  already  been 
formed.  It  is  just  the  same  with  older  people.  You  will 
not  visit  a  shop  in  London,  in  which  a  number  of  hands  are 
employed,  be  fhey  men  or  women;  not  a  counting-house 
with  a  staff  of  clerks  ;  not  a  factory  with  a  supply  of  work- 
men; that  you  will  not  see  how,  by  a  sort  of  magnetism, 
each  individual  draws  to  himself  a  congenial  companion, 
with  whom  he  can  have  a  deeper,  truer  sympathy  than  with 

all  the  rest. 

A  man's  acquaintances  may  be  numbered  by  the  hundred  : 
his  companions  he  may  probably  count  upon  the  fingers  of 
one  hand ;  but,  his  friends— ah  1  the  heart  has  rarely  room 
for  more  than  one  or  two. 

Of  what  importance  is  it,  then,  that,  in  the  formation  of 

"such  friendships,  we  should  be  exceedingly  careful  lest  we 

squander  our  confidence  and  afiection  upon  objects  unworthy 

of  them  1 

This,  unhappily,  is  what  is  done  every  day.  There  is  no 
instinct  of  our  nature,  which  the  devil  knows  better  how  to 
wield,  and  turn  to  his  own  purpose,  than  that  which  I  am 
speaking  of.  As  "the  companion  of  fools  shall  be  destroyed," 
so,  in  seeking  to  compass  your  destruction,  his  first  step  is 
to  give  you  a  fool  for  your  companion. 

It  is  not  difficult  in  London  to  find  friends  of  this  order. 
They  are  generally  quite  obtrusive  in  the  offer  of  their 
society.  Let  a  young  man  come  up,  a  total  stranger  to  the 
metropolis,  I  undertake  to  say  that  within  a  couple  of  hours 
he  can  make  friends — of  a  sort  I  The  thoroughly  bad  fellows 
are  the  first  to  fraternize  with  him.    They  find  out  his  weak 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


252 

points,  and  flatter  him.  They  patronise  him.  They  offer 
to  take  him  all  about  the  town.  They  will  generously 
conduct  him  to  any  place  he  wishes  to  visit,  he,  of  course, 

paying  the  expenses. 

You  may  always  observe  that  if  a  good  young  man  and  a 
bad  young  man  go  together  to  some  questionable  entertam- 
ment,  it  is  the  good  young  man  who  has  to  pay  the  bill. 
The  other,  of  course,  plunges  his  hand  vehemently  into  his 
pocket,  and  says,   "Allow  me;"  but  somehow  he  cannot 
with  all  his  fumbling  get  hold  of  the  coin,  or  he  has  no 
change,  or  he  has  lost  his  purse,  or  some  other  awkward  coinci- 
dence  has  occurred.    We  are  constantly  reading  in  the  papers 
of  some  verdant  stranger  who  has  been  taken  in  by  what  is 
called  "  the  confidence  trick  "  ;  but  the  papers  tell  us  nothing 
of  hundreds  of  well-disposed  young  men  who  are  yearly 
caught  in  the  net  of  a  poisonous  companionship,  and  are 

snared  to  their  eternal  ruin. 

As  I  seek  your  salvation,  my  brother,  I  say  to  you 
solemnly  in  the  name  of  God,  "  Beware  how  you  let  a  loose 
man  talk  familiarly  with  you."  When  he  gives  you  a  hearty 
slap  on  the  shoulder,  return  him  a  look  that  will  make  him 
pause  before  he  does  it  a  second  time.  S>.ow  him  you  mean 
to  be  select  in  your  choice  of  friends. 

Remember,  your  own  character  will  be  juc'ged  by  the 
kind  of  persons  you  ass6ciate  with.  The  ancient  Pytha- 
goras,  before  he  admitted  any  one  into  his  school,  made 
inquiry  as  to  who  his  intimates  had  been  ;  rightly  judg- 
ing that  those  who  had  been  careless  about  their  com- 
panionships were  not  likely  to  derive  much  benefit  from 

his  instructions. 

Even  one  brief  indulgence  in  evil  company  has  been 
known  to  do  a  man  life-long  injury.  The  chemist  will  tell 
you  that  a  single  grain  of  iodine  is  sufficient  to  give  colour 
to  a  hundred  gallons  of  water ;  and  one  evil  friendship  you 


\ 


The  Right  Sort  of  Friend.  253 

have  unguardedly  formed  may  prove  enough  to  poison  your 

whole  life. 

By  all  means  cultivate  the  social  instinct  of  your  nature ; 

but  be  scrupulously  careful  as  to  the  persons  you  admit  to  ^ 

your  confidence  and  affection.  K 

II    We  further  learn  from  the  text  that  the  faithfulness  of  \ 

a  friend  is  tested  in  the  hour  of  adversity,     "And  Jonathan 

came  to  David  into  the  wood."     Had  it  been  into  the  palace 

we  should  have,  thought  nothing  of  it.     No  lack  of  friends 

when  all  goes  prosperously  with  you.     If  you  are  flush  with 

money,  and  liberal  in  the  use  of  it,  if  honours  light  upon 

you  and  you  are  fanned  with  the  breath  of  popular  favour, 

no  fear  of  being  friendless ;  but  that  is  not  the  time  to  form 

your  estimate  of  the  friendship. 

Wait  till  you  are  in  trouble ;  your  fair  name,  it  may  be, 
traduced  ;  your  means  swept  away  by  some  unlooked-for 
disaster ;  or  failing  health  laying  you  on  your  back.  Ah  I 
that  is  the  time  to  judge  whether  your  friends  are  worth 
possessing.  It  is  remarkable  how  few  the  friendships  are 
-that  stand  the  test  of  years,  that  bear  the  strain  of  altered 
circumstances,  and  remain  true  as  the  needle  to  the  pole. 
Too  many  are  like  the  flowers  which  the  winter  frost  traces 
on  our  window  panes ;  they  are  beautiful  indeed,  but  a  breath 
makes  them  melt  away. 

There  is  nothing  more  galling  to  a  sensitive  nature  than 
to  be  deserted  in  the  hour  of  trial  by  those  on  whose  con- 
stancy we  had  been  wont  to  rely. 

But  a  man  has  not  lived  long  in  this  world  before  he 
finds  that  there  is  much  professed  friendship  that  is  only 

tinsel. 

Apart  from  the  inroads  which  death  makes  on  every  circle, 
there  is  a  weeding  process  going  on  that  is  but  too  apparent ; 
for  little  misunderstandings,  paltry  jealousies,  rivalries  m 
qusiness,  or  imagined  slights,  sometimes  alienate  those  who   ^ 


., 


254 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


seemed  to  be  welded  by  inextinguishable  love.  "Ah!** 
said  one  who  had  passed  through  a  little  of  this  experience, 
"though  the  church  is  not  large  enough  to  contain  my 
acquaintances,  the  pulpit  is  big  enough  to  hold  my  friends.' 
The  value  of  a  particular  friendship  may  often  be  judged 
by  the  mode  in  which  it  has  originated.  The  chum  whom 
you  picked  up  in  some  place  of  frivolous  or  vicious  enter- 
tainment is  not  likely  to  do  you  any  good,  nor  is  such 
friendship  in  the  least  reliable.  When  one  man  starts  an 
acquaintanceship  with  another,  as  is  doAe  every  day  in 
London,  by  saying,  "  Come,  let  us  have  a  drop  of  something 
to  drink,"  you  may  be  sure  nothing  good  will  come  out  of 

that  alliance. 

Shall  I  tell  you  how  Jonathan  and  David  were  drawn 
together  ?  It  was  in  this  way.  Each  discovered  in  the  other 
a  moral  quality  that  elicited  his  profoundest  admiration. 
Jonathan  saW  in  David  the  pious  courage  that  dared  to  fight 
the  giant  of  Gath,  "  in  the  name  of  the  God  of  the  armies  of 
Israel : "  and  David  saw  in  Jonathan  the  noble  magnanimity 
of  one  who  rejoiced  in  another's  honour,  though  that  might 
mean  the  eclipse  of  his  own. 

Young  men  !  take  my  advice  :  study  the  character  of  your 
associates;  mark  their  principles;  and  be  sure  that  those  will 
prove  your  best  and  truest  friends  for  whom  you  entertain 
the  most  unbounded   respect.      This  leads  me  to  remark, 

III.  From  the  text,  that  he  is  our  best  friend  who  is  a 
friend  to  our  soul. 

In  David's  singular  attachment  to  Jonathan  he  was  only 
carrying  out  his  own  principle,  "  I  am  a  companion  of  them 
that  fear  Thee."  The  beauty  of  character  that  adorned 
Saul's  son  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  grace  of  God.  Bad 
fathers  have  sometimes  begotten  good  sons,  but  in  this  case 
the  contrast  in  character  was  quite  unique ;  and  Jonathan's 
unaffected  piety  had  much  to  do  with  it.     He  went  into  the 


■' 


I 


The  Right  Sort  of  Friend.  255 

v««d  to  David,  not  to  act  the  part  of  a  spy  on  the  one  side 
or  the  other,  not  to  ask  protection  for  himself,  not  to  supp  j 
his  friend  with  additional  weapons  of  defence :  but  to 
strengthen  his  hand  in  God."  I  see  them  kneeFing  down 
together  in  the  leafy  thicket,  and  commending  ""^  -other 
to  God  in  prayer  :  and  I  hear  Jonathan  speakmg  kmd  and 
encouraging  words,  and  reminding  his  friend  of  many  a 
Divine  and  comforting  promise. 

Be  sure  of  it,  gentlemen,  friendships  thus  formed,  and 
thus  cemented,  are  by  far  the  most  valuable  and  enduring. 
The  intimacy  that  has  sprung  up  between  two,  or  perhaps 
three,  who  have  been  members  of  the  same  Bible  class  or 
Christian  Association,  is  of  the  right  sort.  The  B.ble  xs 
one  of  the  best  links  for  binding  hearts  together. 

If  the  introduction  of  God's  Word  scatters  a  company, 
the  sooner  you  be  out  of  it  the  better.  A  good  woman 
once  asked  her  minister  what  she  ought  to  do,  there  were 
so  many  worthless  characters  came  m  to  s.t  wUh  her 
husband  of  an  evening?  "Put  the  open  Fam.ly  B.ble  on 
the  table,"  said  he,  "and  that  will  dnve  them  off.  And 
so  it  was  •  she  was  not  troubled  with  them  any  more. 

"  He  that  doeth  evil  hateth  the  light ;  neither  cometh  to 
the  light,  lest  his  deeds  should  be  reproved." 

There  is  an  age,-somewhere  between  eighteen  and 
thirty,-when,  somehow,  your  ears  are  apt  to  be  specially 
open  to  attacks  upon  the  Christian  faith 

Bv-and-by  you  have  more  sense,  and  are  able  to  stand 
your  ground  ;  but  often,  just  at  the  point  of  "Pening  man- 
hood, you  are  mentally  unsettled,  and  you  have  got  aH 
sorts  of  doubts,  and   you  are  liable  to  be  set  off  the  rails 

"''now,  what  is  it  that  many  do  at  such  a  time  ?  Senseless 
beings,  instead  of  taking  counsel  with  some  wise  and 
thoughtful  Christian  friend,   they  go  and  associate  them 


256 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


selves  with  lads  whose  hearts  and  heads  are  equally  wrong  . 
or  they  visit  the  infidel  Lecture  Hall ;  or  they  listen  with 
gaping  mouths  to  some  silly,  sneering  sceptic,  who  stands 
with  his  fingers  in  his  vest,  and  laughs  at  their  old-fashioned 
religion,  and  says,  "You  don't  mean  to  say  that  you  believe 
the  first  chapter  of  Genesis ;  or  all  about  Noah  and  the 
flood  ;  or  Pharaoh  and  his  plagues  ;  or  Joshua  bidding  the 
sun  stand  still ;  or  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den ;  or  Jonah  in  the 
whale ;  or  King  Nebuchadnezzar  eating  the  grass ;  or  any 
of  these  exploded  fables?"  so  they  begin  to  waver,  and 
soon  they  give  up  their  morning  chapter,  their  evening 
prayer,  and  gallop  away  into  sheer,  blank  infidelity. 

And,  now  that  they  have  thrown  off"  the  traces,  they  are 
no  more  held  by  moral  or  religious  restraints,  and  so  plunge 
into  sensuaUty  and  the  grossest  materialism.  This  is  the 
history  of  many  thousands  in  London,  who  to-day  are 
worshippers  of  Bacchus,  and  Venus,  and  every  god  but 
the  true  One.  Their  hearts  are  set  on  theatres,  and  races, 
and  dancing  assemblies,  and  music-halls.  They  have  given 
up  the  Bible.  They  make  goddesses  of  women  who 
possess  mere  physical  beauty.  They  collect  photographs 
of  favourite  actresses  and  prima  donnas.  They  sing  the 
most  frivolous  songs.  They  fill  their  minds  with  villainous 
rubbish.  And  so  on  they  go,  and  down  they  run,  till  they 
develop  into  bloated,  shattered  voluptuaries.  And  all  from 
a  fatal  choice  of  companionships. 

Linked  with  a  different  class,  their  career  might  have 
been  a  happy  and  a  noble  one,  leading  up  to  usefulness, 
and  honour,  and  self-respect,  and  to  a  blessed  immortality 

Then  cast  out  every  bad  man  from  your  company,  give  a 
wide  berth  to  every  one  whom  in  your  heart  you  cannot 
respect  and  esteem. 

Like  David,  choose  for  your  bosom  friends  those  who 
will    "strengthen   your    hand    in  God,"  who   will    foster 


• « 


The  Right  Sort  of  Friend.  257 

your  piety,  and  make  you  wiser,  and  better,  and  holier 

men. 

IV.  I  have  one  thing  more  to  say  to  you.  I  wish  to 
introduce  to  you  a  Friend  who  will  prove  the  kindest  and 
the  truest  that  you  ever  had.  Many  of  you  are  strangers 
to  me ;  some  of  you,  I  daresay,  are  strangers  to  every 
one  in  this  church  ;  one  or  two,  it  may  be,  are  just  lament- 
ing  that  they  have  no  one  to  speak  to,  and  are  as  lonely  as 

possible. 

Well,  one  design  of  these  services  is  to  get  -you  out  ot 
that  difficulty.  There  are  as  warm  hearts  here  to-nigbt  zs 
you  will  find  in  I^ndon.  There  are  kind  hands  ready  to 
grasp  yours,  if  you  will  give  them  the  chance.  Don't  be 
too  shy.  Don't  go  away,  and  say,  "  What  a  cold  set  of 
people  there  are  there ;  nobody  spoke  to  me."  There  are 
numbers  of  us  wish  to  speak  to  you,  wish  to  know  you, 
wish  to  help  you,  wish  to  say,  "  Come  thou  with  us,  and  we 
will  do  thee  good."  My  own  feeling  at  this  present  moment 
is;  that  I  should  like  to  walk  down  these  aisles,  and  round 
these  galleries,  and  give  a  good  hearty  shake  of  the  hand 
to  every  young  man  in  this  building. 

In  the  name  of  the  Church  I  invite  you  to  come  and  find 

a  spiritual  home. 

But,  above  and  beyond  all  this,  in  the  name  of  my  Master 
and  Lord,  "  whose  I  am,  and  whom  I  serve,"  I  bid  you 
grasp  His  hand,  and  accept  His  friendship ;  for  He  is  "  a 
friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother."  "  And  Jesus, 
looking  upon  the  young  man,  loved  him."  Ah  I  I  have 
many  kind  friends,  but  He  is  the  best. 

He  understands  me  so  well,  and  has  so  mercifully 
promised  to  stand  by  me  when  all  other  loved  ones  swim 
away  from  my  vision,  that  I  cannot  aff-ord  to  do  without 

Him. 

He  is  the  true  Jonathan,  the  King's  Son,  who  came  to  us 

17 


258 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


in  our  extremity,  and  has  brought  us  "  everlasting  consola- 
tion, and  good  hope,  through  grace." 

Young  man,  if  you  have  got  into  "  the  wood "  of  em- 
barrassment, and  difficulty,  and  trouble ;  if  you  are  hedged 
round  by  your  sins  as  deadly  enemies,  and  see  no  way  of 
escape,  I  tell  you  of  One  who  has  come  to  your  rescue,  a 
Friend  in  need  and  a  Friend  indeed,  who  this  night  offers 
you  His  love.     Dear  young  men,  do  not  despise  it. 

**  Grasp  in  faith  the  hand  of  Jesus, 
Who  from  all  our  sorrow  frees  us, 
And  imparts  the  peace  of  heaven 
To  the  soul,  through  Him  forgiven  : 
So  that  wondrous  light  and  gladness 
Take  the  place  of  gloom  and  sadnesi  *• 


COMPANIONSHIP  WITH  FOOLS. 


■MMki 


"  A  toinpanioH  of  fools  shall  bt  distrcy.-d." — Prov.  xiii  JO. 


(.I 


XIX. 

COMPANIONSHIP  WITH  FOOLS. 

EACH  Book  in  the  Bible  has  its  own  special  character- 
istic ;  and  it  is  well  for  us,  when  studying  a  particular 
passage,  to  keep  in  mind  the  main  feature  or  end  of  the 
book  in  which  it  occurs,  for  thus  we  shall  be  more  likely 
to  arrive  at  its  true  meaning.  Genesis  is  the  book  that 
reveals  to  us  God  as  the  Creator ;  Exodus  presents  H.m 
as  the  supreme  Lawgiver;  Leviticus  as  the  great  Pardoner 
of  sin  through  sacrifice  or  atonement ;  Numbers  as  the 
all-wise  Guide  of  His  people ;  Deuteronomy  as  the  Divme 
Mentor,  reiterating  the  precepts  of  His  law  ;  Joshua  as  our 
Captain  and  strength,  leading  us  forward  through  every 
difficulty ;  and  so  on.  throughout  the  entire  Scriptures. 

Now  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  this  Book  of 
Proverbs  is,  that  it  sets  before  us  the  highest  wisdom. 
Here  Christ  Himself  is  exhibited  as  the  "wisdom  of  God, 
and  religion  as  the  highest  form  of  prudence.  This  central 
thought  gives  a  complexion  to  every  sentence  in  the  book. 
The  godly  man  is  viewed  as  pre-eminently  the  wise  man  ; 
and  the  sinner  as  the  simpleton  and  fool.  There  are, 
indeed,  other  parts  of  the  Bible  in  which  sin  is  spoken 
of  as  folly  ;  but  nowhere  is  this  aspect  of  it  so  urged,  and 
brought  to  the  front,  as  it  is  here. 

Sin  is  a  mistake  as  well  as  a  crime.  In  yielding  to  temp- 
tation, we  not  only  offend  God,  but  do  ourselves  damage. 
To   do  wrong  is   foolish,  senseless,   suicidal.     Apart  from 


262 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


every  higher  consideration,  it  is  an  act  of  gross  stupidity. 
Sin  never  pays.  Not  once  within  these  past  six  thousand 
years  has  a  man  acted  wisely  in  doing  a  thing  which  was 
morally  wrong. 

You  see,  then,  that  the  argument  of  King  Solomon  in 
this  book  is  in  great  part  utilitarian.  I  do  not  say  that  this 
is  the  highest  form  of  argument ;  but  yet  it  is  not  without 
its  value.  Placed  as  we  are  in  this  world,  an  appeal  to  our 
self-interest  will  always  come  to  us  with  power.  Self-love 
is  a  different  thing  from  selfishness.  The  precepts  alike 
of  law  and  gospel,  whilst  they  deprecate  the  latter,  address 
themselves  to  the  former.  It  is  to  our  highest  interest  to 
be  righteous ;  but  "  destruction  shall  be  to  the  workers  of 
iniquity." 

It  is  in  the  light  of  such  thoughts  that  you  are  to  inter- 
pret our  text.  That  you  will  find  or  make  companions  is 
a  matter  taken  for  granted ;  but  at  the  outset  of  life,  it  is 
well  to  weigh  seriously  this  royal  adage  (as  true  to-day  as 
when — a  thousand  years  before  Christ — it  dropped  from 
the  pen  of  Solomon)  :  "  He  that  walketh  with  wise  men 
shall  be  wise ;  but  a  companion  of  fools  shall  be  destroyed." 
That  is  to  say,  a  young  man  will  very  soon  take  the  colour 
of  those  with  whom  he  associates.  *'  Tell  me  with  whom 
you  go,"  says  an  old  proverb,  *'and  I  will  tell  you  what 
you  are."  Society  you  must  have  and  will  have.  Man  is 
a  gregarious  animal,  and  the  sweetest  pleasures,  as  well  as 
the  greatest  dangers  of  life,  are  linked  with  this  love  of 
company,  of  which  nearly  all  of  us  are  conscious.  So  many 
thousands  of  young  men  have  there  been  in  this  city  whose 
ruin  is  put  down  to  bad  companions,  that  I  should  be  guilty 
of  a  great  omission  did  I  not  take  up  this  subject ;  and 
therefore,  without  further  delay,  I  wish  to  speak  a  word 
of  caution  (specially  to  any  of  you  who  have  recently  come 
up  to  the  metropolis)  as  to  the  kind  of  associates  you  should 


Companionship  with  Fools.  263 

^€  cateful  to  avoid.  I  shall  take  up  the  negative  side  to-night, 
and  point  out  the  black  sheep  you  are  to  steer  clear  of, 
having  so  recently  given  you  a  description  of  the  sort  of 
men  whose  friendship  you  should  choose  and  cultivate. 
Satan  has  a  big  family,  all  of  whom  should  be  kept  at  arm's 
length  ;  but  there  are  two  or  three  of  them  I  would  par- 
ticularly mention,  and  warn  you  against,  men  who  are 
*'  fools  "  in  Solomon's  sense  of  the  word,  and  whose  com- 
panionship can  only  be  to  your  destruction. 

I.  Never  make  companionship  with    a   buffoon.      Do  not 
choose  for  your  associate  the  frivolous  jester,  the  man  who 
seems  hardly  capable  of  a  grave  or  serious  thought,  but 
turns  everything  into  an  occasion  for  merriment.     In  dull 
times  such  a  fellow  is  likely  to  be  much  run  after.     He 
keeps  a  company  in  good  humour ;  his  fund  of  ready  wit 
is  inexhaustible  ;  his  hits,  and  jokes,  and  sallies  are  enough 
to  banish  care,  and  keep  any  circle  in  a  roar  of  laughter- 
Thus  the  lively  wit  is  a  general  favourite ;  there  is  some- 
thing in  almost  every  sentence  he  utters,  and  even  in  the 
roguish  twinkle  of  his  eye,  that  seems  to  shed  a  sparkling 
light  around,  and  make  the  burdens  of  life  more  easy  to 

Well,  I  am  not  going  to  condemn  witticism,  and  fun,  and 
repartee.  Not  at  all.  As  Solomon  says,  "  there  is  a  time 
to  laugh,"  as  well  as  "  a  time  to  weep."  There  is  a  time  to 
be  playful  and  jocular,  as  well  as  a  time  to  be  serious  and 
solemn.  I  do  not  see  any  reason  why  a  Christian's  face 
should  be  longer  than  any  other  man's ;  but  I  see  many  a 
reason  why  it  should  be  brighter  and  merrier. 

Never  in  my  life  do  I  remember  of  more  wit  and  humour, 
and  buoyancy  of  animal  spirits  being  crammed  into  one  day 
than  on  a  day  last  summer,  which  I  spent  in  the  country 
in  company  with  the  late  eminent  Wesleyan  minister.  Dr. 
Punshon,  who  knew  when  to  be  grave  and  when  to  be 


264 


Talks  with   Young  Men* 


gay,  and  whose  dying  words  were,  "Jesus  is  to  me  a  living, 
bright  reality."  Not  a  bit  of  sympathy  have  I  with  the 
narrow-minded  folk  who '  think  it  a  sin  to  laugh,  and  who 
have  nothing  but  denunciation  for  those  who  are  playful 
and  humorous.  I  say  God  has  created  within  us  a  faculty 
of  mirthfulness,  which  He  meant  for  use.  When  indulged 
in  moderation,  it  is  a  wholesome  thing,  and  helps  to  lighten 
the  serious  labours  of  life.  If  God  has  given  you  a  little  o^ 
this  quicksilver,  be  thankful  for  it.  Stone,  and  iron,  and 
lead,  though  heavy  and  dull,  are  more  useful  articles ;  but 
every  gift  He  bestows  has  its  purpose. 

But  some  men  lay  themselves  oiit  for  habitual  jesters , 
nor  do  they  stop  at  anything, — religion,  worship,  death, 
eternity, — there  is  no  subject  so  serious  that  they  will  not 
vent  their  wit  upon  it.  Always  punning,  joking,  quibbling  ; 
everything  appears  to  have  for  them  its  comic  or  farcical 
side.  And  so  they  go  on  through  life,  as  though  they  had 
no  higher  view  of  it  than  one  prolonged  amusement.  *'  Note 
such  men,  and  have  no  company  with  them,  that  they  may 
be  ashamed." 

II.  Have  nothing  to  do  with  the  cynic.  He  is  a  very  ugly 
character,  though  somewhat  hard  to  describe.  He  has  a 
wondrous  faculty  of  sneering ;  and  is  almost  incapable  of 
believing  good  of  anybody.  He  can  never  see  a  sterling 
quality  in  any  man,  and  is  always  ready  with  his  insinua- 
tions and  innuendoes.  With  him,  all  human  actions  but  his 
own  are  either  openly  bad  or  secretly  bad ;  and  the  more 
pure  and  virtuous  they  really  are,  the  more  hypocrisy  does 
he  detect  in  them.  He  is  well-named  "  cynic,"  a  word 
which  comes  from  the  Greek  for  dog ;  for  like  an  ill- 
tempered  cur,  he  snarls  at  every  one.  With  him  religion 
is  cant,  benevolence  is  just  a  cunning  form  of  selfishness, 
and  virtue  is  a  sham.  If  you  tell  him  such  a  man  has 
contributed  liberally  to  some  charity,  ten  to  one  he  will 


Companionship  with  Fools.  265 

say  it  is  a  good  advertisement.  If  you  say  of  such  another^ 
he  is  a  devoted  member  of  the  Church,  he  will  add,  it  is  to 
advance  his  business.  Rotten  at  heart  himself,  he  cannot 
conceive  of  such  a  thing  as  genuine  principle ;  and  roundly 
asserts  that  self-interest  is  the  basis  of  every  action. 

A  man  like  that  is  a  pest  and  a  curse  to  the  community. 
He  scatters  poison  wherever  he  goes.  The  young  give 
him  credit  for  wonderful  far-sightedness  and  knowledge  of 
human  nature  ;  and,  therefore,  rather  court  his  society,  as 
one  who  *'  knovi-s  what's  what,"  and  can  pierce  through  all 
shams.  Alas,  we  are  all  naturally  ready  enough  to  listen 
to  anything  that  throws  discredit  on  religion ;  and  when  a 
creature  such  as  I  have  described  gets  among  those  who 
are  not  yet  settled  in  their  convictions,  he  may  do  as  much 
mischief  in  a  month  as  will  take  years  to  eradicate.  Keep 
clear  of  the  cynic  as  you  would  of  a  man  steeped  in  small- 
pox ;  for  his  influence  upon  you  will  be  "  only  evil,  and 

that  continually/' 

III.  Give  a  wide  berth  to  the  sceptic.  There  is  no  fool  so 
great  as  the  man  who  says  there  is  no  God  ;  and  the  coml 
panion  of  such  a  fool  will  be  destroyed.  I  would  most 
earnestly  caution  you  against  associating  with  any  one  who 
rejects  the  Bible,  and  denies  the  Christian  religion,  however 
amiable  and  virtuous  may  be  his  character. 

It  is  getting  quite  the  fashion  with  a  certain  class  of 
young  men  to  talk  as  though  Christianity  were  now  an 
exploded  fable.  They  will  tell  you  that  some  men  have  a 
religious  instinct,  just  as  most  men  have  a  taste  for  music, 
or  for  poetry,  or  for  architecture,  or  for  botany,  or  for  some 
other  art  or  science  ;  and  that  there  is  no  harm  in  gratifying 
that  instinct  by  some  form  of  devotion  ;  but  that  all  re- 
ligions are  alike  good  or  bad  :  it  is  simply  a  question  of  taste 
or  predilection  ;  but  the  basis  of  all  is  superstition.  They 
would  put  Jesus  Christ  on  the  same  level  with  Plato,  and 


266 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


Socrates,  and  Pythagoras,  and  Confucius,  and  Mohammed ; 
and  treat  religion  as  a  pure  question  of  philosophy. 

They  forget  that  man  has  a  moral  nature  and  a  con- 
science, as  well  as  an  intellect :  and  that  these  demand 
what  only  the  Gospel  can  supply. 

You  will  never  reap  any  good  from  men  of  that  stamp, 
but  you  will  derive  an  enormous  amount  of  injury.    Doubt 
and  unbelief,  when  once  enkindled  in  the  soul,  are  hard  to 
eradicate.     Far  better  strengthen  your  religious  faith  than 
imperil   it.       Never  cultivate   the   friendship   of  one  who 
would  rob  you  of  your  trust  in  Christ.    Sincerity,  of  course, 
is  always  to  be  respected,  even  though  it  be  the  sincerity  of 
the  atheist ;  but  there  is  much  more  in  favour  of  revelation 
than  against  it.     The  internal  evidence  which  the  Bible 
possesses    of  its  Divine  authority  is  of  itself  sufficient  to 
silence  the  caviller,  and  command  our  reverent  belief.     All 
the  attacks  that  have  been  made  upon  it— and  no  citadel  on 
earth  has  been  so  stormed  and  assailed— leave  it  to-day 
impregnable  as  ever ;  its  influence  wider  and  mightier  than 
it  ever  was  before.     Believe  me,  my  brothers,  you  will  only 
prepare  for  yourselves  bitterness  and  regret,  if  you  accept 
the   companionship  of  men  who  have  cast  off  the  faith. 
Rather  be  it  yours  with  Jthe  Psalmist  to  say,  ''I  am  a  com- 
panion of  them  that  fear  Thee,  and  of  them  that  keep  Thy 

precepts." 

IV.  Reject  the  company  of  the  libertine.  Most  men  have 
to  fight  a  battle  with  the  passions  of  their  lower  nature 
quite  severe  enough,  without  courting  the  society  of  those 
who  will  throw  all  their  influence  on  the  wrong  side.  One 
immoral  and  licentious  youth  may  prove  a  curse  to  a  score 
of  as  fine  young  fellows  as  ever  came  up  to  seek  a  living  in 

the  metropolis. 

Such  a  man  does  not  show  his  vileness  all  at  once.  On 
the  contrary,   there   may  be  an   air  of  polish   and  virtue 


i'/^ 


Companionship  with  Fools.  267 

about  him,  which  completely  deceives  you  on  first  acquaint- 
ance. The  devil  takes  good  care  to  scatter  flowers  over  the 
pitfalls  he  has  laid.  You  say,  a  more  good-hearted  fellow 
never  lived.  You  get  to  like  him.  He  is  kind  and  generous, 
possesses  lively  spirits,  sings  a  good  song,  can  tell  a  capital  ^ 
story,  is  very  free  with  his  money,  and,  altogether,  is 
"  excellent  company."  So  your  acquaintance  ripens,  and 
— all  the  rest  follows. 

The  man  I  am  now  entreating  you  to  shun  has  no  idea 
of  hard  work ;  Mrith  him  pleasure  is  everything,  and  that 
pleasure  of  the  grossest  kind.  As  a  matter  of  course,  he 
drinks,  for  all  his  ideas  of  enjoyment  are  linked  with  a  free 
use  of  alcohol.  His  nerves  exhausted  by  sensual  indulgence, 
he  must  needs  resort  to  stimulants,  and  he  is  never  satisfied 
unless  others  join  with  him  in  his  potations.  His  haunts 
are  the  taverns  and  casinoes  and  singing  saloons.  If 
he  has  money,  most  probably  he  gambles ;  or,  at.  least, 
squanders  it  upon  everything  that  is  foolish  and  vicious. 
No  mistake,  he  is  a  "fast  man,"  for  money,  character, 
health,  all  quickly  go ;  and,  ten  to  one,  he  himself  gallops 
into  an  early  grave. 

Of  all  the  intimate  associates  of  my  young  days,  I  had 
but  one  who  turned  out  to  be  of  this  description.  Born  in 
affluence,  with  every  advantage  of  culture  and  education, 
an  only  son,  and  possessed  of  pleasing  manners  as  well  as 
of  a  vigorous  constitution,  he  seemed  to  have  a  happy 
career  before  him ;  but  at  sixteen  years  of  age  he  began  a 
career  of  vice,  and  before  his  twenty-first  year  was  reached, 

might  have  been  seen  in  the  streets  of ,  bloated  and 

haggard,  a  very  picture  of  wretchedness.  Poor,  miserable 
fellow  I  he  never  attained  his  majority,  but  died  a  pro- 
fligate's death. 

Most  of  you  have  heard  or  read  of  the  learned  Sir 
Matthew   Hale.      When  quite  a  youth,   he  fell   into   the 


268 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


\ 


society  of  some  vicious  young  men,  who  very  nearly 
proved  his  ruin.  Being  invited  to  a  great  merry-making, 
he  met  with  an  incident,  which  proved  the  turning-point 
in  his  career.  During  the  carouse,  one  of  the  company 
drank  so  much  wine,  that  at  last  he  fell  down  as  dead  on  the 
floor.  All  present  were  much  alarmed,  and  did  what  they 
could  to  arouse  him  from  his  stupor ;  but  Hale  went  into  an 
adjoining  room,  and  falling  on  his  knees,  besought  God 
earnestly  for  his  friend,  and  also  that  he  himself  might  be 
forgiven,  and  then  and  there  he  made  a  solemn  vow  that 
he  would  henceforth  shun  such  company,  and  '*  never  drink, 
another  toast  as  long  as  he  lived." 

I  daresay  some  of  you  think  you  are  perfectly  safe 
though  you  do  associate  with  men  whom  you  know  to 
be  living  improper  lives.  You  don't  like  to  *'cut"  an  old 
friend;  you  think  you  can  still  keep  up  the  intimacy  with- 
out falling  into  evil  ways.  Remember,  these  words  are  the 
words  of  Divine  wisdom,  and  are  written  here  expressly 
for  your  warning,  "The  companion  of  fools  shall  be 
destroyed." 

As  in  nature  all  bodies  receive  or  give  out  heat,  until 
there  is  an  equilibrium  of  temperature,  so  there  is  a  radia- 
tion of  character  upon  character.  Whether  conscious  of  it 
or  not,  we  are  slowly  and  surely  affected  by  the  influence 
of  those  with  whom  we  daily  mingle.  Any  sign  of  want  of 
sterling  principle  should  be  enough  to  make  you  draw  back 
at  once  from  another's  society.  If  you  detect  too  surely 
meanness,  untruthfulness,  or  any  form  of  incipient  pro- 
fanity, that  should  be  quite  sufficient  to  decide  you  to  steer 
clear  of  such  a  person.     Cowper's  principle  admits  of  wide 

application : — 

•*  I  would  not  enter  on  my  list  of  friends, 
Tho'  graced  with  polished  manners  and  fine  sense 
(Yet  wanting  sensibility),  the  man 
Who  needlessly  sets  foot  upon  a  worm.' 


Co77ipanionship  with  Fools.  269 

Always  select  for  your  most  intimate  companions  those 
for  whom,  in  your  inmost  heart,  you  have  a  profound 
respect.  Secure,  if  it  be  possible,  the  friendship  of  men  in 
whom  you  see  qualities  that  you  admire,  and 'would  fain 

possess. 

If  you  tell  me  where  you  pick  up  your  friends  ^  I  shall  have 
a  good  idea  of  their  value.  There  are  thousands  of  instances 
in  London  of  an  acquaintanceship  that  has  sprung  up 
casually  on  the  s.treet,  or  on  the  car,  or  at  the  tavern  door, 
or  in  some  place  of  questionable  amusement ;  and  too  many 
of  these  prove  woeful  and  disastrous.  No  lack  of  vampires 
in  this  metropolis,— friends  of  the  sucker  order,— who  stick 
to  you  while  they  can  get  anything  out  of  you,  but  not  a  ^ 
moment  longer.  Leeches  fasten  on  the  living,  but  drop  ofi 
from  the  dead.     As  Shakespeare  says  :— 

*'  Every  man  will  be  thy  friend 
Whilst  thou  hast  wherewith  to  spend  | 
But  if  store  of  crowns  be  scant, 
No  man  will  supply  thy  want." 

Lay  this  down  as  a  sound  principle;  no  Christian  young 
man  will  find  real  satisfaction  in  the  friendship  of  one  who 
is  not  himself  a  Christian. 

You  cannot  be  too  careful  in  your  selection.  Youthful 
years  run  very  quickly  away,  and  the  companionships  you 
then  form  will  leave  their  impress  on  your  whole  life.  Of 
course,  in  urging  this  cautiousness,  I  do  not  mean  that  I 
would  have  you  to  be  saucy,  or  proud,  or  misanthropic.  A 
warm-hearted  man  must  have  friends,  he  cannot  be  happy 
without  them.  It  is  only  a  mean,  selfish  nature  that  can  be 
content  to  remain  isolated  and  alone.  Robinson  Crusoe  might 
glory  on  his  lonely  island  in  being  "monarch  of  all  he  sur- 
veyed," but  he  was  heartily  glad  when  he  got  the  company 
of  the  man  Friday.      Even  the  companionship  of  the  dumb 


J 


I 


270 


Talks  with   Yoicng  Men. 


animals  is  better  than  none.  Sir  Walter  Scott's  dog,  Maida, 
and  Dr.  Johnson's  cat,  Hodge,  cannot  be  dissociated  from  their 
memory.  The  social,  chatty  hours  spent  with  their  chums 
by  such  men  as  Charles  Lamb,  and  Sydney  Smith,  and 
Lord  Macaulay,  have  an  intense  interest  and  attractiveness 
all  their  own.  Many  a  pleasant  day  have  I  spent  at  Craig- 
crook,  in  Midlothian,  where  every  room,  and  garden-seat, 
and  tree  seemed  redolent  with  the  fragrance  of  the  delight- 
ful dialogues  which  Lord  Jeffrey  used  to  have  there  with  his 
literary  friends.  Religion  does  not  frown  upon  such  enjoy- 
ment ;  rather  does  it  develop  and  encourage  it.  There  is  no 
freemasonry  lo  compare  with  the  fellowship  that  unites 
those  who  love  and  serve  a  common  Saviour.  On  matri- 
monial companionship,  and  the  principles  that  should  guide 
you  there,  I  shall  have  something  to  say  on  another 
occasion. 

Ah !  brothers,  the  first  friend  I  would  have  you  all  to  seek 
and  find  is  Jesus  Christ  Himself.  To  know  the  sweetness 
of  His  friendship  you  must  first  possess  the  joy  of  His  sal- 
vation. Oh  I  what  a  happy,  happy  thing  would  it  be  ifevery 
one  of  you  were  a  decided  Christian.  I  would  to  God  that  I 
could  persuade  each  of  you  to  come  over  to-night  to  the  Lord's 
side.  I  know  you  mean  to  do  so  some  day,  but  oh  I  delays  are 
dangerous ;  and  many,  who  have  had  the  same  intentions, 
have  passed  unprepared  into  the  presence  of  their  God.  I 
cannot  be  sure  that  I  will  have  the  chance  of  speaking  to  any 
one  of  you  again;  and  therefore  this  opportunity  must  not 
slip.  I  would  urge,  I  would  coax  you  to-night,  to  accept  the 
offered  hand  of  the  best  friend  in  the  universe.  There  are 
some  people  about  whose  friendship  you  don't  care,  and 
there  are  others  whose  friendship  you  would  dearly  love,  to 
possess ;  let  me  tell  you,  there  is  no  salvation  for  you,  no 
heaven  for  you,  without  the  friendship  of  Christ.  It  is  the 
most  awful  thing  a  man  can  do  to  reject  the  outstretched 


Companionship  with  Fools.  271 

hand  of  the  Divine  Saviour.     You  say,  God   forbid  that  I 
should  do  that !     But  that  is  just  what  you  are  doing  if  you 
do  not  come  right  out  of  unbelief  and  worldliness,  and  with 
God's  help  be  out  and  out  a  Christian.     Oh,  won't  you  come 
to-night  ?     I  feel  as  though  I  should  like  to  step  down  from  . 
this  pulpit,  and  go  to  each  young  man  here  who  is  not  a 
member  of  a  Church,  and  grasp  his  hand,  and  not  let  it  go 
till  he  had  promised  that  he  would  now  come  over  to  the 
Lord's  side.     Is  Christ  to  say  of  the  unconverted  who  are 
here,  "  I  stretched  out  My  hand,  but  no  man  regarded  ? " 
Does  not  some  brother  feel  now  within   his  heart,  even 
whilst  I  am  speaking,  that  this  is  God's  message  to  him? 
"  See  that  ye  refuse  not  him  that  speaketh."    Decide  at  once 
between  the  two  worlds,  one  or  other  of  which  is  to  be  your 
portion  for  ever.    Is  it  possible,  that,  for  the  sake  of  hugging 
your  sins  a  little  longer,   you   will  imperil  your  immortal 
soul  ?      Is  this  world  so  good  to  you,  that  you  can  afford  to 
dispense  with  all  the  sweet  joys  and  hopes  which  are  laid 
up  for  you  in  the  gospel  ?     Alas  !   the  most  solemn  impres- 
sions quickly  pass  away ;  and  unless  God  help  you,  with  an 
energy  of  decision  you  had  never  known  before,  to  settle  the 
matter  to-night,  and  cast  in  your  lot  with  the  people  of  the 
Lord,  I  fear  my  entreaty  is  in  vain.    What  about  to-morrow? 
What  about  next  Sunday  ?    If  there  is  but  half  a  thought  or 
wish  in  your  heart  just  now  to  turn  over  a  new  leaf,  and  be 
a  Christian,  God  Almighty  fix  that  purpose,  and  make  it 
permanent.    How  I  should  rejoice  to  know  that  some  of  you 
had  this  evening  been  brought  to  the  feet  of  the  Saviour. 
Believe  me.  His  is  not  a  hard  hand ;  His  is  not  a  cold  heart. 
No  frown  upon  His  brow ;  no  angry  words  upon  His  lips. 
Some  of  us  can   tell   you,   for  we   have  proved  Him,  that 
<'  His  is  love  beyond  a  brother's."    **  He  will  not  quench  the 
smoking  flax,  not  break  the  bruised  reed."     I  advise  every 
one  of  you  to  come  this  night  to  a  decision.     Choose  ye 


272 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


whom  ye  will  serve.  Determine  which  of  two  eternities  is 
to  be  yours.  Select  the  road  you  are  to  travel,  the  goal  you 
are  to  pursue,  the  company  you  are  to  take.  "  He  that 
walketh  with  wise  men  shall  be  wise;  but  the  companion  of 
fools  shall  be  destroyed." 


THE  CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WHOLE  MATTER. 


ii 


"  Ltt  us  hear  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  mailer :  fear  Cod,  ami  keep 
Ifis  commandments;  for  this  is  theivhole  duty  of  man" —Yxxxes.  xii.  13. 


XX. 

THE  CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WHOLE  MATTER. 

AT  the  close  of  a  volume,  or  of  a  course  of  lectures,  i^ 
is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  have  a  brief  epitome  or 
resume  of  the  whole.     In  a  few  telling  words  you  have  the 
sum  of  the  argument,  the  gist  of  all  that  has  go-  before 
and  are  thus  the  better  able  to  grasp  ^^ /""^y.  " J°";. 
memory.     I  like,  in  taking  up  a  book,  to  find  a     table  of 
contents"  at  the  beginning,  or  a  good  condensed  summary 
at  the  end.     It  helps  you.     You  cannot  carry  an  octavo 
volume  in  your  mind,  but  you  can  retam  a  few  pithy, 
pungent  sentences.     You  may  not  be  able  to  remember  a 
series  of  addresses,  but  you  can  grip  the  pomted     conclu- 
sions" at  which  the  speaker  arrives. 

To-night  we  hold  the  last  of  these  special  services  for  this 
year.  Month  by  month,  God  has  given  me  the  privilege  of 
addressing  such  numbers  of  young  men  as  have  taxed  the 
capacity  of  this  building :  and  though  our  subjects  have 
been'  very  varied,  the  scope,  or  drift,  of  all  these  services 
has  been  the  same,  and  I  have  thought  that  this  evening 
I  might  try  to  show  you  what  that  scope  is-what  has 
been  the  drift  of  all  our  teaching -and  the  words  of 
Ecclesiastes  come  ready  to  my  hand,  "Let^us  hear  the 
conclusion  of  the  whole  mattter :    Fear  God      etc 

To  understand  exactly  the  force  of  King  Solomons  words, 
you  must  know  what  was  the  object  he  set  before  him 
when  he  wrote  this  book.     He  meant  it  as  a  record  of  the 


276 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


grand  and  unexampled  experiments  he  made  in  search  of 
man's  highest  good.  He  tells  us  in  the  second  chapter  that 
this  was  the  great  inquiry  which  he  set  himself  to  prose- 
cute, "  What  was  that  good  for  the  sons  of  men  which  they 
should  do  under  the  heaven  all  the  days  of  their  life?" 
How  can  man  best  fulfil  the  end  of  his  being  ?  How  can 
he  attain  to  the  highest  measure  of  happiness  ? 

A  noble  inquiry  indeed,  and  worthy  of  the  wisest  of 
men  to  pursue.  Well,  he  had  splendid  materials  for 
making  it.  Never  man  had  such  a  chance  as  he.  I  sup- 
pose that  since  the  world  was  made  unto  this  day  there 
has  never  been  such  wealth,  such  splendour,  such  magni- 
ficence, and,  withal,  so  fertile  a  mind,  able  to  extract  from 
the  resources  of  earth  all  the  satisfaction  and  pleasure  they 
could  yield.  Why,  some  of  you  think  the  sovereign  of 
England  rich  with  ;£385,ooo  per  annum,  but  what  is  that 
compared  with  the  yearly  income  of  King  Solomon,  which 
has  been  estimated  at  upwards  of  four  millions !  The 
world  seemed  literally  to  exhaust  itself  upon  that  man. 
It  emptied  itself  into  his  lap.  It  spread  its  treasures  at 
his  feet.  It  lavished  on  him  all  its  luxuries  and  delights. 
It  pressed  the  rarest  wine  to  his  lips.  It  set  the  richest 
gems  in  his  crown.  It  warbled  the  sweetest  music  in  his 
ear.  He  tells  us  in  this  book  how  he  had  everything 
material  that  fancy  could  prompt  or  heart  could  desire. 
Houses  and  gardens,  and  vineyards,  and  orchards,  and 
pools  for  fish,  and  stately  upholstery,  and  silver  plate, 
and  gold  plate,  till  they  actually  trimmed  the  candles  with 
snuffers  of  gold,  and  scooped  out  the  ashes  of  the  grate 
with  shovels  of  gold. 

I  see.  before  me,  like  a  petrified  dream,  the  regal  palace, 
in  all  the  snowy  whiteness  of  its  virgin  marble.  Around 
the  towers  there  flutter  birds  of  richest  plumage  and  of 
rarest  song.     The  gardens  are  gay   with   a  floral  beauly, 


The  Conclusion  of  the   Whole  Matter,     277 

to  which  every  clime  has  been  tributary ;  and  I  have  read, 
that  to  this  day,  non-indigenous  flowers  are  found  by 
botanists  near  Jerusalem, — flowers  found  nowhere  else  in 
Palestine, — the  lineal  descendants  of  the  very  plants  whicl^ 
Solomon  collected  from  foreign  lands.  Listen  to  the  strains 
of  that  wonderful  orchestra.  Inhale  the  perfumed  spray  of 
those  glittering  fountains.  See  the  peacocks  strutting  under 
those  spreading  cedars.  Mark  those  sculptured  figures, 
almost  breathing  with  life.  Look  at  stair,  and  porch,  and 
corridor,  and  gallery,  adorned  with  all  the  embellishments  of 
art.  Curtains  of  Tyrian  tapestry.  Fragrance  of  cinnamon, 
and  calamus,  and  frankincense.  Glitter  of  jewellery,  till  the 
eye  is  dazzled  and  confused.  And  hark  I  the  prancing  of 
proud  horses  brought  up  to  the  palace  gate,  that  the  royal 
princes  may  leap  into  the  saddle  for  a  grand  parade ;  or  to 
the  thunder  of  chariots,  whose  fiery  chargers,  with  throbbing 
nostril,  and  flaunting  mane,  and  golden  caparison,  make 
the  earth  quake  with  their  tramping  hoofs. 

To  say  all  this,  is  only  to  begin  an  inventory  of  Solomon's 
resources.  With  an  intelligence  amounting  to  genius,  and 
a  wisdom  that  has  never  been  equalled,  he  applied  himself 
to  the  study  of  nature;  and,  five  hundred  years  before 
Aristotle  (whom  some  have  called  the  ''  father  of  natural 
history  ")  earned  his  laurels,  Solomon  had  diligently  explored 
the  field.  He  was  a  large  contributor  to  the  literature  of 
his  day.  His  proverbs  were  three  thousand,  and  his  songs 
one  thousand  and  five ;  whilst  on  botany,  ornithology,  and 
zoology,  and  chemistry,  and  I  know  not  what  else  beside, 
he  "Was  facile  prtticeps,  the  highest  scholar  of  his  age. 

I  think  of  Solomon  as  a  walking  encyclopaedia.  I  think 
of  his  palace  yonder,  in  Shushan,  as  hbrary,  museum, 
laboratory,  herbarium,  all  in  one.  He  was  a  thinker.  He 
was  a  student.  He  was  a  philosopher.  He  was  a  man  of 
extraordinary  versatility.     The  accomplishments  of  twenty 


4 

1  '1 


278 


Talks  with  Young  Men. 


average  men  centred  in  him.     He  lived  many  lives  in  one. 
He  tapped  every  conceivable  resource  pf  happiness. 

And,  all  through,  he  kept  this  one  life-aim  before  him, 
to  find  out  v^^herein  lay  man's  highest  good,  how  he  could 
best  fill  up  his  allotted  term  on  earth.  And  with  what 
result  ?  Lo,  I  see  him  thoughtfully  standing  in  the  vestibule 
of  the  palace ;  and,  as  he  looks  round  upon  all  his  vast 
domain,  and  recalls  the  experience  of  these  past  eventful 
years,  he  draws  a  long,  deep  sigh  that  whispers  of  "vanity 
and  vexation  of  spirit,"  and  then  he  says  (and  the  weighty 
words  have  come  echoing  down  the  long  corridor  of  ages), 
'^This  is  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter.  Fear  God 
and  keep  His    commandments :    for   this   is   the   whole  oj 


tt 


man. 

Did  you  notice  that  I  left  out  a  word  just  now  ?  If  you 
have  your  Bibles  before  you,  you  will  see  that  the  word 
"  duty,"  in  the  text,  is  printed  in  italics,  indicating  that  it 
has  been  supplied  by  our  translators,  and  does  not  exist  in 
the  original.  Indeed,  I  think  it  mars  the  text ;  at  least  it 
makes  it  express  but  half  its  meaning.  No  doubt  Solomon 
is  pointing  to  duty,  but  this  is  not  the  main  thought  in  his 
mind.  He  has  been  eagerly  prosecuting  the  inquiry,  how 
man  can  attain  to  his  fullest  and  highest  development,  can 
reach  his  truest  dignity,  can  fulfil  the  end  of  his  being. 
The  more  he  does  so,  the  more  shall  he  be  in  the  line  of 
his  supreme  happiness  and  duty.  The  Septuagint  rendering 
brings  this  out  exactly,  "  Fear  God,  and  keep  His  command- 
ments :  for  this  is  the  whole  man."  Without  religion,  a 
man  is  not  whole,  not  complete  :  there  is  a  great  gap  in  his 
being;  let  him  have  wealth,  and  rank,  and  honour,  and 
fame,  and  knowledge,  and  art,  and  science,  still  he  needs 
something  else  to  make  him  a  whole  man,  a  "  man  "  in  the 
noblest  sense  of  the  word,  a  man  as  he  was  originally 
created  in  the  image  of  his  Maker ;  and   that  something 


The  Conclusion  of  the   Whole  Matter,    279 

else  is  here  said  to  be  the  "  fear  of  God,  and  the  keeping 
of  His  commandments." 

This  expression  stands  for  genuine  personal  religion, 
"the  fear  of  God,"  denoting  the  inward  principle;  and  "  the 
keeping  of  His  commandments  "  the  outward  practice. 

Tell  me,  then,  my  brothers,  is  there  a  truth  more  import- 
ant than  this  which  I  could  urge  on  your  consideration 
to-night  ?  or  is  there  one  which  may  be  more  truly  said  to 
hold  within  itself  the  condensed  substance  of  all  these 
monthly  addresses  ?  Why,  sirs,  if  there  is  one  wish  for 
you  that  I  have  above  another,  it  is  that  each  of  you  may 
feel — aye,  and  may  own — that  you  need  true  godliness  to 
make  you  complete ;  that,  without  a  living,  earnest  piety, 
though  you  may  have  every  other  endowment,  there  is  still 
a  sad,  a  terrible  want  about  you — a  want  which  nothing  else 
can  supply. 

Do  not  prate,  my  dear  brother,  about  your  manliness,  so 
long  as  you  know  not  God  :  why,  no  matter  what  be  your 
y6ars,  or  your  strength,  or  your  gifts,  or  your  resources, 
"you  are  not  yet  a  whole  man  till  you  have  the  grace  of 
God  in  your  heart  "  God  created  man  a  living  soul,"  not 
a  dead  soul :  and  so  long  as  your  soul  is  dead,  you  lack  the 
supreme  element  of  your  dignity,  and  that  which  gives  you 
your  noble  and  peerless  place  in  creation. 

An  old  Arabian  philosopher  used  to  pray :  "  O  God,  be 
kind  to  the  wicked.  Thou  hast  been  sufficiently  kind  to 
the  good  in  making  them  good."  And  underneath  that 
prayer  there  lies  a  great  truth  ;  for  there  is  no  endowment 
that  any  of  you  can  possess  that  is  half  so  precious  as 
converting  grace.  I  tell  you,  I  do  honestly  feel,  that  if  you 
take  away  from  me  my  religion,  you  rob  me  of  my  manhood  ; 
you  bring  me  down,  by  a  quick  descent,  immeasurably 
nearer  to  the  beasts  of  the  field.  To  a  vast  degree,  my 
self-respect,  my  dignity,  my  honour,  have  gone.     You  have 


il 


r8o 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


quenched  the  h'ght  within  nly  soul.  I  am  now  but  a  two- 
legged  brute  (with  all  the  misfortune  of  knowing  my 
wretchedness). 

I  have  never  yet  been  able  to  find  any  nobleness  in  a 
man  who  had  no  rehgion.  Prince  Bismark  once  said  that, 
if  you  take  the  average  native  Parisian, —  he  being,  of  course, 
an  Atheist, — and  if  you  take  away  his  tailor,  his  hairdresser, 
and  his  cDok,  what  is  left  is  Red  Indian.  Joseph  Cook  tells 
us  he  had  not  been  in  Paris  a  week  before  he  was  perma- 
nently cured  of  all  intellectual  respect  for  French  scepticism. 
Thomas  Carlyle  wrote,  a  few  years  ago,  with  reference  to 
those  who  were  being  carried  off  their  feet  by  the  evolu- 
tionary doctrines  of  Darwin  :  "  It  is  a  sad  and  terrible 
thing  to  see  men  professing  to  be  cultivated,  and  yet  looking 
round  in  a  purblind  fashion,  and  finding  no  God  in  this 
universe  I  And  this  is  what  we  have  got :  all  things  from 
frog  spawn  :  the  gospel  of  dirt  the  order  of  the  day.  The 
older  I  grow, — and  now  I  stand  upon  the  brink  of  eternity, 
— the  more  comes  back  to  me  the  sentence  in  the  catechism 
which  I  learned  when  a  child,  and  the  fuller  and  deeper  its 
meaning  becomes,  •  What  is  the  chief  end  of  man  ? — Man's 
chief  end  is  to  glorify  God,  and  to  enjoy  Him  for  ever.'  " 

The  late  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  (who  was 
a  sincere  Christian  of  .the  old-fashioned  sort,  who  had 
repented  of  his  sins  and  put  his  trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ),  when  addressing  a  body  of  young  men,  shortly 
before  his  sudden  death,  said,  "I  believe  in  a  robust  Chris- 
tianity. If  ever  there  was  a  time  in  our  country,  that  time 
is  now,  when  young  men  should  read,  reflect,  think,  and 
act  according  to  the  teachings  of  God's  Holy  Word,  and 
give  thought  and  effort  to  purify,  lift  up,  and  carry  our 
country  onward  and  forward,  so  that  it  shall  be  the  leading 
Christian  nation  of  the  globe.  You  will  be  disappointed  in 
many  of  your  hoj>es  and  aspirations ;  but,   gentlemen  (he 


The  Conclusion  of  the   Whole  Matter,     281 

went  on  to  say),  when  friends  turn  their  backs  upon  you, 
when  you  lay  your  dear  ones  away,  when  disappointments 
come  to  you  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  lefv  there  is  one 
resource  for  a  true  and  brave  heart ;  and  that  is  an  abiding 
faith  in  God,  and  a  trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  Lord 
Bacon  used  to  say  that  in  the  unforced  tendencies  of  the 
young  men  of  the  age,  you  have  the  best  materials  for 
prophecy  as  to  the  social  and  political  future  of  a  nation. 
When  Catiline  -attempted  to  overthrow  the  liberties  of 
Rome,  he  began  by  corrupting  the  young  men  of  the  city  ; 
showing  discernment  enough  to  perceive  that  what  consti- 
tutes the  strength  and  safety  of  a  community  is  the  virtue 
and  integrity  of  its  rising  youth. 

Give  us  a  generation  of  young  men  who  "  fear  God  and 
keep  His  commandments,"  and  the  highest  prosperity  of 
our  country  is  secured.  There  is  a  power  in  a  living 
Christianity,  which  even  its  enemies  are  unable  to  deny. 
Charteris,  a  notorious  scoundrel  of  his  time,  once  said  to  a 
man  who  was  distinguished  for  his  religious  principles, 
"•I  would  give  a  thousand  pounds  to  have  your  good 
character."  "Why?"  inquired  the  other.  "  Because  I 
could  make  ten  thousand  pounds  by  it,"  was  the  reply  of 
the  detestable  rogue. 

It  was  the  testimony  of  the  gre^t  Napoleon  that  in  war 
the  moral  is  to  the  physical  as  ten  to  one.  When  I  resided 
in  a  wooded  part  of  Scotland,  I  used  to  notice  that  the 
trees  nearest  the  light  at  the  edge  of  a  dense  forest  had 
larger  branches  than  those  in  the  interior,  and  that  the 
same  tree  would  throw  out  a  long  branch  towards  the  light, 
and  a  short  one  on  the  other  side  towards  the  dark  recess 
of  the  forest.  Just  so,  a  man  grows  towards  the  light  to 
which  he  turns.  If  you  turn  towards  God,  all  your  nobler 
powers  and  faculties  will  develop  and  strengthen,  you  will 
attain  to  a  loftier  manhood,  your  good  principles  will  grow 


I  ii 


II 


V 


282 


Talks  with   Young  Men, 


stronger,  your  character  will  acquire  robustness  and  vigour , 
but  if  you  turn  towards  mammon  or  the  flesh,  your  nature 
will  become  dwarfed  and  stunted,  and  whatever  manliness 
you  have  will  eventually  wither  away.     I  would  say  this 
with  more  than  wonted  emphasis,  because  it  is  the  thing 
that  so  many  fools  deny;  who,   running   straight  in  the 
teeth  of  our  text,  talk  as  though  religion  imparts  a  softness 
and  stupidness  to  its  possessor,  and  takes  what  is  manly 
out  of  him.     Yes,  most  of  us  know  something  of  the  slang 
terms  in  which  it  is  common  with  a  certain  class  to  throw 
ridicule  upon  decided  and  godly  young  men,  as  though  they 
were  mamby-pamby  "  muffs"  and  simpletons ;  whereas  it 
is  on  the  side  of  the  scoffers  that  there  is  cowardice,  and  all 
that  is  contemptible,  and  unmanly,  and  mean.     I  had  in 
my  hand  the  other  day  a  brick  taken  from  the  excavations 
they  are  making  in  the  City,  in  what  is  the  site  of  the  old 
Roman  wall,  a  brick  believed  to  have  been  last  handled 
before  Christ  was  on  the  earth ;  and  it  was  as  perfect  as 
though  it  had  been  made  a  month  ago ;  long  ages  have  passed 
over  it,  and  millions  and  millions  of  feet  have  trodden  over 
the  ground  in  which  it  lay,  yet  it  is  as  strong  and  durable 
as  when  the  Romans  laid  the  foundation  of  ancient  Londi- 
nium.    So  it  is  with  this  text  of  ours,  which,  though  written 
a  thousand  years  before  the  Incarnation,  declares  a  truth 
as  accurate  to-day  as  when  Solomon  penned  it,  that  nothing 
short  of  "  the  fear  of  God,  and  the  keeping  of  His  com- 
mandments," can  make  one  a  whole  man. 

Young  men,  equip  yourselves  as  you  like,  physically, 
socially,  intellectually ;  get  on  in  business,  and  rise  in  the 
world  to  the  full  extent  of  your  ambition ;  realise  the 
highest  culture  and  proficiency  to  which  you  can  aspire, — 
I  say  to  you  deliberately,  in  His  name  whose  servant  I  am, 
that,  unless  your  heart  is  dominated  by  "  the  fear  of  God," 
and  your  life. ruled  by  the  desire  to  '<keep  His  command- 


The  Conclusion  of  the   Whole  Matter.     283 

nients,"  there  is  still  about  you  a  radical,  a  deplorable,  a 
fatal  defect. 

It  is  a  defect,  however,  which,  thank  God,, may  at  once 
be  remedied :  and  I  would  most  earnestly  beseech  as  many 
of  you  as  are  not  Christians  to  put  it  to  yourselves,  whether 
another  of  the  most  precious  years  of  your  life  is  to  be 
allowed  to  close  without  your  having  settled  the  great 
matter,  and  joined  yourselves  to  the  followers  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Oh,  it  is  a  grand  thing,  when  one's  feet  are 
in  early  life  turned  in  the  ways  of  righteousness,  and  when 
you  can  say,  as  did  the  pious  Obadiah  to  Elijah,  "  I,  thy 
servant,  fear  the  Lord  from  my  youth." 

The  God  who  claims  your  reverent  and  trustful  con- 
fidence (for  this  is  really  the  meaning  of  the  word  ''  fear " 
in  our  text)  is  no  such  stern,  implacable,  and  iron-armed 
tyrant  as  some  of  you  have  been  wont  to  imagine  ;•  but  a 
kind  and  merciful  Father.  The  ignorant  peasants  of  the 
Brocken  mountains  in  Saxony  sometimes  see,  at  sunrise 
or  sunset,  a  gigantic  spectre  on  the  mists  of  the  opposite 
hills,  and  tremble  before  what  they  think  to  be  a  super- 
natural form;  but  it  is  only  the  shadow  of  their  own 
bodies,  thrown  in  colossal  size  on  the  masses  of  floating 
vapour  by  the  rising  or  sinking  sun.  Such  were  the  gods 
whom  the  heathen  conceived  of;  such  is  the  deity  whom 
the  natural  heart  always  pictures — a  grim  and  distorted 
representation  of  man  himself;  as  Jehovah  says,  in  the 
50th  Psalm,  *^  Thou  thoughtest  that  I  was  altogether  such 
an  one  as  thyself."  The  gospel  brings  to  you  a  very  dif- 
ferent view  of  "Him  with  whom  you  have  to  do.'*  It 
reveals  to  you  a  God  who  not  only  stretches  out  to  you 
the  hand  of  a  father's  love,  but  yearns  over  you  with  a 
mother's  tenderness. 

Did  you  ever  hear  what  Napoleon  Buonaparte  said  at 
St.    Helena,    when    asked    his    opinion    of    the    Christian 


284 


Talks  with  Young  Men, 


religion  ?  He  replied,  "Alexander,  Caesar,  Charlemagne, 
and  I  myself  have  founded  great  empires ;  but  upon  what 
did  these  creations  of  our  genius  depend  ?  Upon  force. 
Jesus  alone  founded  His  empire  upon  love,  and  to  this  day 
millions  would  die  for  Him.  This  proves  to  me  convincingly 
His  Divinity." 

My  brothers,  you  will  not  misunderstand  the  words  "  Fear 
God  "  in  our  text.  In  one  sense,  I  want  you  to  get  rid  of  the 
fear  of  Him.  I  want  you  to  know  Him  so  well,  and  trust 
Him  so  fully,  that  the  thought  of  Him  will  never  bring 
you  terror  or  alarm.  St.  Paul  expressly  says,  "  God  has 
not  given  to  us  the  spirit  of  fear,"  that  is,  of  dread  and 
cowardice.  And  St.  John  says,  that  "  perfect  love  casteth 
out  fear."  "The  fear  of  God"  in  the  Old  Testament  answers 
as  nearly  as  possible  to  "  faith  in  God  "  in  the  New  ;  and 
the  dual  exhortation  in  our  text  is  just  a  summons  to  the 
principle  and  practice  of  true  religion,  or  to  what  the 
Apostles  call  "faith  and  works." 

Let  the  thought  of  a  personal  and  present  God  be  the 
supreme  factor  in  your  daily  life.  Let  not  a  morning  dawn 
upon  you,  nor  an  evening  close,  without  a  visit  to  the  cross 
of  Christ,  where  faith  shall  ever  find  a  Saviour,  and  peni- 
tence shall  always  find  a  Friend.  Bind  yourselves  to  a 
daily  perusal  of  the  Bible,  and  make  it  your  companion 
and  guide.  From  Sunday  to  Saturday  let  no  day  pass  that 
shall  not  see  you  on  your  bended  knees  in  prayer  to  God. 
Make  it  a  fixed  principle  with  you  to  keep  the  Sabbath 
holy.  Join  in  fellowship  with  the  saints,  and  attach  your- 
selves openly  to  the  Church  of  Christ.  You  who  once  were 
church-members  in  your  country  home,  don't  throw  away 
your  religion  now,  when  it  is  more  necessary  to  you  than 
ever ;  don't  keep  your  "  lines  "  stowed  away  at  the  bottom  ol 
your  trunk ;  don't  withhold  from  us  the  note  of  introduction 
you  received  from  a  pastor  or  Christian  friend  ;  and  don't  be 


The  Conclusion  of  the   Whole  Matter.     285 

ashamed  to  have  the  Bible  always  lying  on  your  table  as  a 
witness  that  you  mean  to  live  a  Christian  life. 

Never  allow  an  unclean  or  profligate  man  to  cross  your 
threshold.  Whether  you  reside  with  a  family,  or  live  in  a 
private  lodging  on  the  first,  second,  or  third  floor,  determine 
that  no  bad  book,  or  pamphlet,  or  newspaper,  shall  ever 
enter  your  room.  Let  your  stock  of  books  be  select,  and 
such  as  will  benefit  both  heart  and  intellect. 

Don't  forget  to  write  often  to  the  dear  ones  at  home. 
If  you  have  a  brother  or  a  cousin  far  away,  and  exposed 
to  special  temptation,  send  him  a  letter  of  Christian  counsel, 
and  tell  him  from  me  not  to  forget  the  God  of  his  fathers. 

Oh,  if  any  of  you  have  up  till  now  been  running  on  the 
wrong  line,  I  want  you  to  shunt  to-night;  get  upon  the 
safe  rails,  and  turn  your  face  Zionward.  Is  it  a  hardship 
or  an  affliction,  this  godly  life  to  which  I  beckon  you  ? 
Nothing  of  the  kind.  As  our  text,  rightly  rendered,  tells 
you,  it  comprises  the  whole  happiness  of  man.  I  do  not 
ask  you  to  give  up  the  pursuit  of  pleasure,  but  rather  to 
seek  it  where  alone  it  can  be  truly  found.  The  old  Grecian 
fable  tells  us  that  when  Ulysses  sailed  past  the  island  of  the 
Sirens,  those  mysterious  sea-nymphs,  who  had  the  power 
of  charming  by  their  songs  all  who  were  within  hearing  of 
their  voice,  he  listened  a  moment  to  the  sorcerer's  music ; 
and,  to  prevent  himself  and  crew  from  being  lured  to  the 
shore,  he  stopped  their  ears  with  wax,  and  had  himself 
tied  to  the  mast  of  the  ship.  Thus,  as  the  story  goes, 
they  passed  in  safety  the  fatal  strand.  But,  when  Orpheus, 
in  search  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  went  by  the  same  coast,  he 
being,  you  remember,  a  masterly  musician,  set  up  better 
music  than  that  of  the  Sirens,  and  so  enchanted  his  crew 
with  his  own  sweet  melodies,  that,  without  the  use  of  either 
thongs  or  wax,  they  all  sailed  safely  past  the  sorcerer's 
isle. 


286 


Talks  with  Youm  Men. 


\ 


I  do  not  propose  to  fill  your  ears  with  wax,  or  to  hold 
you  back  by  thongs  from  the  vain  pleasures  of  the  world  : 
but,  by  sounding  sweeter  music  in  your  ear,  offering  you 
richer  joys  than  sense  and  sin  can  yield,  I  would  disarm 

it  of  its  spell. 

Come  over  to  the  Lord,  my  brothers  all ;  and  you  come 
from  a  frozen  waste  to  perpetual  summer ;  from  a  barren 
wild  to  the  land  of  brightness  and  beauty,  of  flower  and 
fruit,  of  sunshine  and  song. 

The  late  David  Burke  said,  towards  the  close  of  his  days, 
that  his  life  might  be  divided  into  a  series  of  fits  or  manias ; 
that  he  began  it  with  a  fit  poetical,  then  a  fit  metaphysical, 
and  a  fit  philosophical,  and  a  fit  rhetorical,  and  a  fit  political ; 
each  fit  passing  off  in  turn,  and  still  leaving  the  heart  empty 
and  unsatisfied.  This  is  just  v^hat,  on  a  far  grander  scale, 
Solomon  did  :  he  pulled  out  in  succession  every  stop  of  the 
world's  great  organ,  struck  every  chord,  sounded  the  full 
diapason  of  earthly  delight ;  but  lived  to  find  that  all  such 
music  soon  palls  upon  the  ear — lived  to  place  on  record, 
as  the  testimony  of  an  experience  never  matched,  and  a 
wisdom  never  equalled,  the  weighty  truth  I  leave  with 
you  to-night,  as  "  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter,"  that 
in  the  fear  of  God^  and  the  keeping  of  His  commandments  is 
comprised  alike  all  the  duty  and  all  the  happiness  of  man. 


ff 


STANDARD  RELIGIOUS   WORKS. 

.  — — — — — — "* 

New  and  Enlarged  [4^h]  Edition,  in  Cheaper  Form, 

OF 

CHARLES  L.  BRACE'S  GESTA  CHRISTL 

A  HISTORY  OF  HUMANE  PROGRESS   UNDE'R  CHRIS- 
TIANITY.   With  New  Preface  and  Supplemen- 
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gles with  honest,  thoughtful  infidelity." 

'"  It  presents  a  storehouse  of  facts  bearing  on  the  influences  of  Christianity  upon 
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nev.  Dr.  JR.  S.  STORRS  says:  ''IT  IS  A  BOOK  THAT 
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A  NEW  and  REVISED  EDITION,  with  NEW  MAPS  and  ILLUSTRATIONS, 

STAEEY'S  SINAf  Al  PALESTIl. 

In  Connection  with  their  History.    By  Dean  A.  P.  STANLEY. 

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CHOICE  POPULAR  BIOGRAPHIES. 


HEROES  OF  CHRISTIAN  HISTORY. 

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BY 


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WILLIAM  WILBERFORCE. 
HENRY  MARTYN. 
PHILLIP  DODDRIDGE.     - 
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THOMAS  CHALMERS.       - 
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By  Rev.  Chas.  D.  Bell,  D.D. 

By  Rev.  Chas.  Stanford,  D.D. 

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By  Rev.  Donald  Fraser,  D.D. 

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By  Frederic  W.  Macdonald. 


..  This  series  of  books  will  be  widely  popular.  It  ~"-^''  "^^^^ 
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